Division Among the Democrats

<p>For four years, Democrats had been united behind the mission of defeating President Trump.</p><p>But after the election of Joe Biden, the party’s disappointing showing in congressional races — losing seats in the House and facing a struggle for even narrow control of the Senate — has exposed the rifts between progressives and moderates.</p><p>In interviews with The New York Times, House members on each side of that divide — Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Representative Conor Lamb of Pennsylvania — shared their views about how the Democrats can win back support in local races.</p><p><br /></p><p>We want to hear from you. Fill out our survey about The Daily and other shows at: <a href="http://nytimes.com/thedailysurvey?smid=pc-thedaily" target="_blank">nytimes.com/thedailysurvey </a></p><p><br /></p><p>Guest: Astead W. Herndon, a national political reporter for The New York Times. </p><p><br /></p><p>For more information on today’s episode, visit <a href="http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily" target="_blank">nytimes.com/thedaily </a></p><p><br /></p><p>Background reading: </p><ul><li>In the wake of Joe Biden’s victory, the divides that have long simmered among Democrats are now<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/09/us/politics/democratic-party-joe-biden.html" target="_blank"> beginning to burst into the open</a>.</li><li>In an<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/07/us/politics/aoc-biden-progressives.html" target="_blank"> interview with The New York Times</a>, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez dismissed criticism from House moderates and said the next few weeks would set the tone for how the incoming administration would be received by liberal activists.</li><li>Representative Conor Lamb<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/08/us/politics/conor-lamb-democrats-biden.html" target="_blank"> told The Times</a> that he expected the Biden team to govern as it had campaigned: with progressives at arm’s length.</li></ul>