'A huge catastrophe': Democrats grapple with congressional and state election losses [View all]

[brooklynite]

NBC News

In interviews with more than two dozen operatives and elected officials, Democrats said they are worried the 2020 results will hamstring the party and the progressive agenda, setting up a bleak next decade of uphill fights in which winning workable legislative majorities will be difficult at both the state and federal level.

Of special concern was the party's lackluster showing in state legislative races, not only because the GOP will once again have the upper-hand in drawing districts, but because it revealed a fundamental problem communicating the Democratic party's brand.

"We have to demonstrate that we are the party that's on the side of working families," said state Rep. Chris Turner, the Democratic leader in the state House in Texas.

In Washington, the plan for many Democrats was to capture the Senate and pass a lightning round of reforms, from voting rights to admitting new states to the union, that would help the party overcome structural limitations and set them up for not only sweeping policy wins, but further electoral gains down the line.

"2020 was the last best chance we had to have a real workable Senate majority. That's gone," said Sean McElwee, the founder of the left-wing think tank Data for Progress. "We have two more years where we can try to work within the structure and win these elections. And then I'm kind of at a loss."