Democrats Own Up to a Flawed Playbook—The Harder Question Is What Comes Next

The DNC says its approach to voters isn’t working. Some close to the party say the real divide is over what Democrats stand for.

Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton’s watch party in Chicago on March 17, 2026. Stratton won the Democratic Senate primary. Nathaniel Smith for The Epoch Times

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) acknowledged this week that the party’s approach to reaching voters is broken.

That admission, contained in the opening pages of a 200-plus-page campaign playbook released on March 28, came with a plan to fix the party’s organizing mechanics. It did not come with an answer to the broader question facing Democrats heading into the November 2026 midterm elections: What does the party stand for beyond opposition to President Donald Trump?