In the turbulent world of American politics, the question of party leadership has rarely felt as unsettled as it does today—at least for Democrats. As the dust settles from the 2024 election and voters look toward the 2028 presidential race, recent polling paints a striking picture: Democrats are facing a profound identity crisis, while Republicans are rallying behind a clear leader and grooming a new generation of successors.
On November 20, 2025, Politico published the results of a new poll that left many political observers scratching their heads. When voters who supported Kamala Harris in 2024 were asked who currently leads the Democratic Party, the top response was a collective shrug: “I don’t know.” The runner-up answer, if you can call it that, was “Nobody.” Only 16 percent of Harris voters—people who had just recently backed her for the presidency—said they believed she was the leader of her own party. Other names, like California Governor Gavin Newsom, former President Barack Obama, President Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, each received only a smattering of recognition.
One Democratic strategist, quoted by Politico, summed up the confusion bluntly: “I couldn’t tell you who the leader of the Democratic Party is, and I work in Democratic politics.” The sense of drift is palpable, and the numbers back it up. Even as the party faces the imminent exit of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi—who just announced she will not seek reelection after nearly four decades in Congress—there’s no clear figure ready to step into the void. Pelosi, for all her controversies and longevity, has long been a stabilizing force for Democrats. Her departure, as Politico notes, is more than symbolic: it’s a metaphor for a party losing its anchor at a critical moment.
The contrast with the Republican Party couldn’t be starker. Over 81 percent of Republican voters surveyed identified Donald Trump as the undisputed leader of their party. This isn’t just loyalty; it’s an emerging consensus about the party’s future direction. The same poll found that Vice President JD Vance is widely seen as Trump’s natural successor, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio—once considered a potential rival—now reportedly pledging to support Vance if he runs for president in 2028. According to Politico, this alliance signals a new unity between the party’s traditional conservatives and its populist wing, with Rubio and Vance both supporting Trump’s vision for the country.
“Haters complain that Trump shattered the old GOP, and he did,” writes Mike Marlowe in Politico. “But he is also reforging the pieces into something much more united and effective.” For Republicans, the question of leadership isn’t up for debate; it’s a spirited conversation about succession, not survival.
For Democrats, though, the mood is more anxious. The same poll that revealed the leadership vacuum also highlighted the party’s struggle to define itself. As Marlowe puts it, “Democrats’ crisis isn’t that they lost to Trump yet again. It’s that the party has defined itself entirely by what it’s against. Democrats have no ideology beyond ‘We Hate Trump.’ The only thing holding the coalition together is hatred, and you can’t govern on that—at least not for very long.”
Yet, despite this apparent leadership crisis, another recent survey suggests the party’s political fortunes may not be as bleak as they appear. Between November 10 and 17, 2025, The Argument conducted a poll of 1,508 registered voters across the United States, focusing on political opinions and the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The results, published on November 20, challenge the narrative that Democrats are still suffering from their handling of the pandemic.
According to The Argument, both parties received negative ratings for their COVID response, but Democrats fared significantly better, with a net approval of -6 compared to the Republicans’ -23. Even Joe Biden, who remains unpopular overall, scored a COVID approval rating of -8, outperforming Donald Trump’s -22. Notably, a majority of Americans agreed that school closures during the pandemic were “largely necessary,” a finding that defies years of criticism and second-guessing.
There’s more: Despite a rise in skepticism about vaccines, over three-quarters of Americans still support the recommended childhood vaccination schedule, and 80 percent oppose ending school requirements for vaccines like measles, mumps, and rubella. Even on contentious issues like workplace vaccine mandates, the nation is split rather than deeply divided. As The Argument observes, “Five years on from COVID, there is no single overarching sentiment that characterizes American views on the government response to the pandemic. What is true, however, is that any lingering electoral consequences for Democrats don’t seem to be present any longer.”
If anything, Democrats currently hold an advantage over Republicans on the issue of personal health—a remarkable turnaround from predictions of lasting political damage. The poll even found that California Governor Gavin Newsom, a frequent target of conservative ire during the pandemic, leads Vice President JD Vance by 7.2 percentage points in a hypothetical 2028 presidential matchup among registered voters. Newsom’s support is especially strong among disengaged independent voters who did not participate in the 2024 election, leading this group by 28 percentage points—an edge that exceeds congressional Democrats’ margin with the same demographic.
Newsom’s resilience is particularly striking given his own pandemic-era controversies. Readers may recall the uproar over his infamous dinner at The French Laundry, in violation of his own COVID protocols. The incident sparked a recall effort that ultimately failed, and, if anything, boosted his national profile. As The Argument points out, Newsom’s ability to connect with “disengaged” voters—those who don’t watch cable television and often skip major elections—could be a harbinger of shifting political tides, especially as the Republican advantage with low-propensity voters appears to be fading.
Still, the Democratic Party’s lack of a clear leader remains a challenge. The poll numbers are one thing; the absence of an obvious standard-bearer is another. With Pelosi stepping down and no consensus around Harris, Newsom, or any other figure, Democrats risk entering the 2028 race without a unifying vision or messenger. As one Harris voter told Politico, “Ugh, no one,” when asked who leads the party—a sentiment that may haunt Democrats as they prepare for the next campaign cycle.
Meanwhile, Republicans appear poised for a smooth transition, with Trump, Vance, and Rubio all pulling in the same direction. The party’s internal divisions, once a source of chaos, now seem to be giving way to a new sense of purpose and discipline.
As the nation looks ahead to 2028, the two parties find themselves in very different places: one united but controversial, the other popular on policy but adrift on leadership. The coming years will reveal whether Democrats can translate their policy advantages into electoral success—or whether their leadership vacuum will prove insurmountable.