() The Democratic National Committee held a daylong forum Saturday featuring face-offs between candidates seeking leadership positions. The eight people vying for the position of chair were featured last and while there was no clear winner, there was definitely a loser: the consultant class of Washington, D.C.

The virtual event was the first of four planned forums and candidates saved their sharpest critiques not for each other but rather for the well-paid D.C. consultants that the Democratic Party has often relied on in elections. 

After November’s disappointing results that left Democrats locked out of power in the White House, Senate and House, it seems clear that no matter who wins, Democratic leadership will look elsewhere to achieve success.

All of the candidates agree that means looking to the states and territories and working with people on the ground to build up the local parties, and compete in races up and down the ballot, in red states and blue states, as well as urban and rural areas. 

Perhaps most remarkable about this forum was how much agreement existed among the candidates.

There’s consensus about what needs to be done: organize everywhere, change the messaging and branding of the Democratic Party, be inclusive of all voters, be authentic and respectful, and of course, ditch those D.C. consultants. 

Any substantial difference between the candidates comes down to their experience, which appears to be informing the strategies they plan on employing to achieve success. Those who are experienced organizers, like Wisconsin Dems Chair Ben Wikler and Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party Chair Ken Martin, are calling for permanent campaigns and year-round outreach and organizing. 

Wikler talked about building a nationwide war room that “is on offense” along with reaching voters through both conservative and progressive media and “speaking to folks who are not tuned into politics…people who are paying attention to YouTube and podcasts and Tiktok.”

Martin is not just focused on organizing for the next presidential election. And with this forum focused on the southern region, he noted that his leadership would reject “southern political disinvestment” and that “we can’t just focus on one election cycle … Our party needs to start preparing for the next 10 years, and that’s going to be critical.”

For those who have or currently hold elected office, their strategies are rooted more in their electoral success. Former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley points to his success in that role as well as his prior experience as a mayor and most recently as commissioner of the Social Security Administration. He said his experience is what the DNC needs, that of “a change maker, a national leader who can take on Donald Trump.” 

NY State Senator James Skoufis cited his experience winning in a plus-12 Trump district as evidence he knows how to reach these voters. He said, “folks who voted for me and voted for Donald Trump, they voted that way because of authenticity. And so we’ve got to get back to that as a national Democratic Party.”

Other candidates have experience in Democratic politics, including the spiritual-wellness guru, Marianne Williamson, who recently ran for president. She said that she would spend her time as chair focused on talking to Americans but would leave the organizing strategy to one of the other candidates who she would ask to help her. 

The chair will be chosen at the DNC’s winter meeting Feb. 1.