At party’s ‘What’s Next’ conference, consensus is they need to act quickly, but over affordability or accountability is the question
It’s the question thousands of Democrats, including lawmakers, strategists, pollsters, creators, organizers, staffers and 2028 presidential hopefuls are trying to answer at a three-day gathering in Denver, after a sweeping victory in the 2026 midterm elections.
“We must deliver immediate, bold relief during this affordability crisis,” James Talarico, the senator-elect from Texas, said at the “What’s Next” conference on Thursday.
“Now, we’ll have the collective responsibility to really get to work, fighting for an affordable America, working hard to drive down the high cost of … groceries, high cost of gas, high cost of housing,” Hakeem Jeffries, the congressman of New York, said on Friday.
The consensus is Democrats need to act quickly when they become the majority in January. But the how in that is much more complicated.
There’s a looming question of whether lawmakers should focus more on accountability and pursuing investigations into the administration or focus on moving legislation forward to make life more affordable for Americans.
Rob Sand, the governor-elect of Iowa, told reporters on Thursday he thought the focus should be on delivering tangible economic relief.
“Every time I read, right now, about more investigations of things that have already been reported on in the…
