ATLANTA AP - Anderson Clayton wanted a headline name to speak at North Carolina Democrats' summer gala - but the state party chair bypassed familiar Capitol Hill figures, looking instead to Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
She described him as "a real fighter" against President Donald Trump, someone who gets things done because he actually controls levers of government - unlike any Democrat in Washington.
"I wanted people to hear from one of the Democratic governors who has defended their state, who could look at the president and say, 'I'm in a position of power right now just like you are, and I'm doing good things,'" Clayton said.
Indeed, some Democratic activists see the party's 23 governors as their best answer to Trump's second Republican presidency. Those statehouse chiefs provide proof voters will embrace alternatives - and could give them a roadmap for the 2026 midterms, when Democrats hope at least to reclaim a U.S. House majority. They also will likely be central to the party's hopes in the 2028 presidential race.
There is no question Democrats are down at the federal level. Republicans control the White House, the House and the Senate, allowing Trump to pursue an aggressive agenda. The party lacks a singular leader, and recent polling shows Democratic voters are deeply pessimistic about their party's future.