Democratic strategists worry their party lacks 'even a semblance of a message'

The requisite opposition to President Trump aside, does the Democratic Party have a clear message for voters in 2018? Democratic strategists aren't so sure, The Hill reports.

"We haven't had a real message since the last presidential election," said one such strategist, Chris Kofinis. "In terms of a Democratic Party having even a semblance of a message, it's just not there, and that's the reason this election is going to be unpredictable," he argued. "You have to give people a reason to vote for you, not a reason to vote against someone else."

The last midterm cycle with a strong Democratic campaign was 2006, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, former chair of the House Democratic Campaign Committee, has suggested. That year, Democrats ran on the "six in '06" agenda, securing a major midterm win by highlighting specific policy proposals. "It's a little late now to do" something similar for 2018, Emanuel says.

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This year's strategy focuses instead on broad themes which candidates can adapt to local circumstances. In theory, that may be helpful to Democrats in districts that went for Trump in 2016, but in practice results are difficult to anticipate. Whether and how much to explicitly attack the president is also a matter of debate.

"I couldn't tell you what exactly we stand for, no," an unnamed Democratic strategist told The Hill. "At least back then [in 2006], we had a target; we knew what we needed to do to get there. I can't say the same thing now."