At a closed-door meeting last month, one of the leading strategists of the US Democratic Party presented a proposal to party leaders and donors: if we plan to win again, we must break down ideological trenches and reject interest group agendas, the American portal "Politiko" reported.
Adam Gentleson, former chief of staff to Democratic Senator John Fetterman and senior advisor to the late Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, used the event to introduce his new research and communications platform, “Searchlight.”
The goal is to push the Democratic Party toward the most politically effective and widely accepted positions, regardless of which wing of the party it comes from, with an eye toward the 2028 presidential election, according to five people who spoke directly to Gentleson and were granted anonymity to discuss private conversations.
"Politiko" writes that Seth London, an advisor to some of the most significant Democratic donors, is also collaborating with him on this project.
Ideas are more important than ideology
The mission of this think tank, as described by interlocutors, is to explicitly reject ideological purity tests, which Gentleson believes hold the party hostage. The most famous such case became the material for an extremely effective spot by Donald Trump against former Vice President Kamala Harris during his campaign to return to the White House, according to Politico.
“Searchlight,” named after the birthplace of Gentleman’s former boss Harry Reid, comes at a sensitive time for the Democratic Party, which is trying to repair its tarnished image and prepares for a return to Congress in 2026. One source close to the project, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said its goal is to create “an institutional space where Democrats can think freely and put their ideas out in the open.”
“That space doesn’t exist now, because wherever ideas are put forward, they are ironed out from one angle or another,” the source added. He added that the project will not be guided by ideological principles or positioned along the classic left-right divide, but will strive to draw on the best ideas, regardless of where they come from.
Rejection of identity politics
Gentleson discussed the idea with top Democratic donors and officials, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Michigan Senator Alyssa Slotkin and other members of Congress, Politico reports. The gathering, called “Wildflower,” was held at the luxury resort of the same name in New York City and was attended by several potential 2028 presidential candidates, including former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Kentucky Governor Andy Bichir and Arizona Senator Ruben Gallego.
Some of the messages Gentleson conveyed, according to Politika, were already outlined in his op-ed for The New York Times, published shortly after his defeat in the 2024 presidential election. He called on Democrats to declare “independence from liberal and progressive interest groups that prevent them from thinking soberly about how to win” and to reject “the rigid moral framework and language of the academic elite.” He urged elected officials not to be afraid to alienate the powerful groups that dictated the course of the 2020 Democratic primaries.
London also wrote a post-election strategy calling for a “complete rejection of identity politics based on race and group affiliation.”
“Voters are not divided along ideological lines the way interest groups present it to Democrats,” said one rally participant.
"The party machinery forces people to fit into pre-determined molds. If this initiative can bring new ideas outside of those narrow frames that automatically limit the circle of voters you can reach, I believe many would welcome it."
Old problems, new packaging?
However, as Politiko points out, the fight for the future direction of the Democratic Party has already begun, and Searchlight is just the latest entrant on an already crowded scene of Democratic organizations seeking to influence the 2028 elections. According to the portal, some of those who heard Gentleson's plan were disappointed because it seemed like a duplicate of existing initiatives.
The Welcome PAC, which focuses on the moderate wing of the party, is holding a rally this week called “WelcomeFest,” which it describes as “the largest public gathering of centrist Democrats.” Several speakers from that rally, including Slotkin and Congresswoman Marie Glusenkamp Perez, also attended the Wildflower conference.
“They say, 'We need a moderate voice, because we're losing everything and we need to move back toward the center and away from the woke and identity politics,'” said one Democratic donor advisor who heard Gentleson's presentation.
"They want to be a research and communication center for it, which is great, but we already have a bunch of organizations that are doing that."
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