WATCH: Why Democrats think they need more 'alpha' energy

The 2025 general elections brought wins for Democratic candidates across the nation. Those Democrats who won, however, represent vastly different wings of the party. In New York City, Zohran Mamdani ran on an ambitious, progressive agenda that included free child care, free bus service and city-run grocery stores. In New Jersey and Virginia, Rep. Mikie Sherril, D-N.J., and former Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., represented a more moderate wing of the party.

PBS News’ Lisa Desjardins and Liz Landers broke down what those Election Day wins mean, including what some of the takeaways were for lawmakers, according to their reporting.

In a conversation with Lisa Desjardins, Liz Landers pointed to a conversation she had recently with Rep. Jake Auchincloss, D-Mass., who leads the Majority Democrats, a political action committee that supports moderate Democratic candidates. She asked him whether Gov.-elect Spanberger, a moderate, is a template for Democrats moving forward. Auchincloss pointed out that each state or district is different, but “an outline of a template for Democrats is talking about affordability. Bringing alpha energy,” Landers said, adding that to Auchincloss said “there's indication in polling that shows that voters think that Democrats don't have a message that they stick to, that they don't seem confident about what they're talking about, and that Republicans, in contrast, do.”

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