Inside DNC chair’s ‘challenging’ bid to avert midterm defeat

By STEVE PEOPLES
AP National Political Writer

Jaime Harrison is a man leading a party in peril. A year after seizing total control of Washington, Democrats are grappling with painful losses in last week’s off-year elections that raised serious concerns about a much larger red wave in 2022. Suddenly, the Democratic optimism of this spring has been replaced by doubt as party officials openly ponder whether they have the right message, the right messengers and the right political strategy. Harrison is chairman of the Democratic National Committee and he says his unique experiences can help the party “thread a needle” in next year’s midterm elections.