Former President Barack Obama and his team of power players have been leading the way in the Democratic Party for nearly two decades, but that luster is fading for many after the losses of the 2024 elections, and strategists say fresh blood is necessary for the party to move forward.
“One of the challenges the Democratic Party does have is that there is nostalgia for the Obama era, both in terms of Barack Obama being in the White House and what that meant for the country and the style of leadership that we have, but also like the style of our politics,” Democrat strategist Mike Nellis told NBC News, the network reported Tuesday.
“There’s been a de-evolution of our politics over the last 10 years, and it’s just a very different era,” he added.
Obama remains a powerful force for the party, as he commands the attention of major donors and still fills stadiums for his speeches.
But the influence of several key figures in Obama’s world was marred in the 2024 election, particularly with the loss of Vice President Kamala Harris against President Donald Trump.
When Harris entered the race, she reached out to Jim Messina, who managed Obama’s 2012 reelection bid.
Democrat megadonor John Morgan, though, told NBC that he warned Messina that taking on Harris would be “political suicide.”
Messina turned down the job, and David Plouffe, who led Obama’s 2008 victory, served in a key role in the Harris campaign and is now associated with her defeat.
“The shine’s off Plouffe now. He was the golden boy,” said Morgan. “Now he’s just an old broken-down boy who lost. Big.”
And now, more Democrats are criticizing Obama’s strategists and consultants, and last month, Democratic National Committee Officials blamed Obama’s failure to invest in state parties during his two terms in office for setting back organizing efforts.
Further, the Obama coalition of voters, including those of color, younger voters, and people who are less politically engaged, shifted to vote for Trump in the 2024 race.
Obama’s influence has been felt in the political contests since he left office, as he elevated President Joe Biden by naming him as vice president, leading to Biden’s 2020 victory. Obama also picked Hillary Clinton as his Secretary of State and then backed her for the 2016 race against Trump, which she lost.
DNC Finance Chairman Chris Korge lashed out at Plouffe, who has blamed Biden’s hesitation on leaving the race for Harris’ loss. Korge told NBC News that Plouffe and other Obama world players shared the blame for the loss.
“It’s time to re-evaluate the use of consultants and bring in new, forward-looking people,” Korge said. “The old Obama playbook no longer works.”
David Hogg, 25, a controversial DNC vice chair, has come under fire for speaking out against some Democrat office holders.
He told NBC News that part of the problem in relying on Obama and his strategists is that many young voters have few memories of the nation’s first and only Black president.
“They don’t remember much of what Obama talked about,” Hogg said. “They grew up in the political context of Donald Trump and him being normalized, because that was what politics was to them growing up.”