7 revealing quotes from Democrats' Denver summit
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Sen.-elect James Talarico (D-Texas) speaks during the What's Next conference at Mission Ballroom in Denver on Thursday. Photo: Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post via Getty Images
Democrats won big in the midterm election. Now comes the harder part: proving they deserve the power they've been given.
Why it matters: Democrats' sweeping victories gave the party fresh momentum to challenge Trump — and a narrow window to show voters they can deliver.
Driving the news: Party leaders, rising stars and strategists gathered Thursday at Denver's Mission Ballroom for the "What's Next" conference, hosted by Majority Democrats PAC.
- The goal: To celebrate the 2026 election and chart a path to 2028.
What they're saying: Here are seven revealing takeaways from the main stage:
State of play: "Last week, America was willing to try on hope. We have to prove that it fits. … So let's get to work." — Denver Mayor Mike Johnston
How they did it: "In every single state and in every single demographic group, cost of living was the most important issue." — Charlotte Swasey, director of analytics at Searchlight Institute
Stunning stat: "You can pin a lot of this on the Iran War. Basically, the day that the Iran War started, [President Trump's] approval on gas prices went from 49% to 33% within days." — David Shor, head of data science at Blue Rose Research
Threat level: "Our party is on probation with voters, who might not like us very much or know exactly what we stand for, but who have given us a chance anyway.
- "The clock is short. We maybe have the next year to 18 months to show voters who we are, or the pendulum might swing right back." — Stephanie Valencia, co-founder of Equis Research
What's next: "We must deliver immediate, bold relief during this affordability crisis.
- "We must unrig this economic system that only benefits the top 1%.
- "We must unrig this political system…
- "We must ban gerrymandering…
- "We must pass universal health care…
- "We must invest in our … public education system…
- "We must overhaul this broken immigration system…
- "We must cut the red tape and build millions of new homes…
- "We must regulate artificial intelligence…
- "We must end these forever wars that are driving up prices…
- "And most importantly … we must bridge the divides between us." — James Talarico, U.S. Sen.-elect from Texas
The intrigue: "We're going to reassert all of the powers of Congress that have been surrendered and abdicated by the MAGA Congress to King Trump." — U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland
The bottom line: "The question now before us is not whether Democrats can win power, but whether our party will prove worthy of the authority and the trust that the American people have vested in so many of the leaders in this room." — Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder