The sprawling, 10-person Democratic leadership team that Chuck Schumer assembled on Wednesday will allow him to hear from everyone from Bernie Sanders to Joe Manchin.

And Democrats are going to need all the wisdom they can summon — from all quarters of the party — to survive what’s coming at them in 2018.


Still nursing their wounds after last week’s thrashing, Democrats already are grappling with how to defend 10 senators up for reelection in 2018 in states that Donald Trump carried, some resoundingly. Republicans are targeting a quintet of senators from conservative states where Trump walloped Hillary Clinton: Montana, Missouri, Indiana, North Dakota and West Virginia. The GOP could amass a filibuster-proof majority by running the table in those states and other battlegrounds.

To prevent that, Schumer will need to mine his fellow leaders to accommodate vulnerable Democrats with profoundly different ideologies and political circumstances — from Wisconsin’s Tammy Baldwin, who also was tapped for a leadership spot, to West Virginia’s Manchin, who has gone out of his way to align himself with Trump voters this week. That means appealing to the white working class in some states — and stoking minority and liberal turnout in others.

“People agree with us but didn’t believe in us,” said Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii, a liberal member of the caucus. “The left-right spectrum has been scrambled. And so, it’s no doubt we have a daunting map. But I think the way to run in this new environment is with authenticity, with passion, with connectivity.”

The foreboding map, coupled with competing political imperatives for different vulnerable members, has party leaders looking to drive wedges between Trump and Republican leaders in the early going. But ultimately, if Democrats hope to avoid ceding even more power to Republicans in two years, they’ll have to seize back the issues — and voters — that Trump snatched away.

“Those Trump voters are the same people who elected me to the Senate. You can say they’re different people, but they’re not different people,” said Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.). “I resist the characterizations that people make of good hardworking people. … I don’t give a lot of consideration to what the ‘party’ does.”

“I’m proud of the fact that we’re a party of diversity and inclusivity, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be talking to everyone. And I feel like we’ve neglected to do that,” said Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri, a moderate also up for reelection in 2018.

Heitkamp and McCaskill said Manchin’s appointment signals that party brass aren’t abandoning the Democratic centrists that won them a hefty 55-seat majority in 2012.

But for Manchin personally, the appointment could cut both ways.

He hopes that being in the room with Democratic leaders who are guiding an increasingly liberal party will be a boon for his reelection prospects. On the other hand, Republicans could tag him as a leader of a party that’s not winning any popularity contests in West Virginia.

“That could be a blessing and a curse from my standpoint,” Manchin said in an interview. “If they condemn me for that, then so be it. But I got a chance to speak for them and other working Americans. … We might not win [the argument], but you’re going to have your voice heard.”

Manchin, McCaskill, Heitkamp and Sens. Joe Donnelly of Indiana and Jon Tester of Montana will have ample latitude over the next two years to break with their party and vote with Trump and congressional Republicans. Still, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) needs eight Democratic defectors on legislation — and there aren’t enough moderates in the minority to consistently give it to him.

That means centrists can vote against more liberal party leaders, even while the rest of the party holds the line to block conservative policy. A preview of that dynamic was on display this week as liberals attacked Trump for appointing Steve Bannon to his inner circle, but moderate senators refrained.

That’s not to say the red-state Democrats will be with Trump on everything. Some said they intend to hold the president-elect accountable for his campaign promise to curb the influence of lobbyists.

“Draining the swamp, I’m going to work with him on that stuff. It does bother me that it does look like he’s filling the swamp right now. But that’s OK. Let’s give him a chance to get started,” Tester said.

“Pay close attention. Make sure that he delivers on the promises he’s made,” McCaskill added.

Indeed, a host of vulnerable Democrats recognize that Trump has pilfered some populist issues from Democrats. They see an opportunity to either team with Trump on those issues — or reclaim them if he fails to follow through.

“The kinds of things he was talking about are the things that I fight for every single day: Fair trade, currency manipulation, closing tax loopholes, taking jobs overseas. I’ve got 10 bills I’m happy to have him support,” said Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, a state where Trump narrowly leads but has not officially won.

Stabenow, who is also up in 2018, was named to the No. 4 leadership post heading Senate Democrats’ messaging arm.

Republicans are bullish about padding their majority in the midterms. While Democrats may take back seats in the House, winning back the Senate is almost impossible, given that they will be on offense in just two battlegrounds, Arizona and Nevada, and defending 25 seats.

The political imbalance was made clear when Democrats announced their sprawling leadership team — but didn’t name a campaign chairman. Meanwhile, Sen. Cory Gardner of Colorado had already locked up the GOP’s campaign arm and was itching to get to work.

“We have a number of seats that we will be competitive in. We know that the map presents opportunities that we didn’t have in 2016,” Gardner said.

Indeed, Republicans have opportunities that the party wasn’t banking on just a few weeks ago. Trump won Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Florida and Ohio — states that have ranged from bright blue to purple over the past two decades.

Suddenly, senators like Stabenow, Baldwin, Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Bill Nelson of Florida are alluring targets for Republicans. It’s an added headache for Schumer as he charts the party’s legislative strategy.

Longtime Democratic hands like Nelson don’t seem worried that the political landscape in their states has shifted. Democrats had myriad opportunities to put away GOP incumbents this year and knocked off only two, demonstrating that it’s still hard to oust a sitting senator.

“Just be myself,” Nelson said when asked how he appeals to Trump voters. “Just be my bipartisan, consensus-building self.”