US Democratic Party gains could stoke party rift

Subject

Update on the US Democratic Party as elections near.

Significance

The Democrats face the Republicans in midterm elections on November 6. Since 2016, when they entered opposition, the Democrats have seen a resurgence of activity and interest, but at a cost: the party is divided, with insurgent and establishment forces clashing in primary elections which have moved policy priorities previously considered marginal onto the central agenda.

Impacts

• Control of one or both houses of Congress will challenge Democrats internally over how far to cooperate with Trump.
• Infrastructure and trade are potential areas for bipartisan cooperation.
• The Democratic Party is likely to be driven further leftwards by ‘insurgent’ candidates.