DEMOCRATS IN SPLIT SCREEN

Democrats in Split-Screen: The Base Wants It All. The Party Wants to Win.

By ALEXANDER BURNS and JONATHAN MARTINJUNE 11, 2017

Photo

Bernie Sanders rallied his youthful, often-raucous coalition Saturday night at a gathering called the “People’s Summit,” where supporters hailed him in worshipful language. Credit Joshua Lott for The New York Times

DUNWOODY, Ga. — Democrats are facing a widening breach in their party, as liberal activists dream of transforming the health care system and impeaching President Trump, while candidates in hard-fought elections ask wary voters merely for a fresh chance at governing.

The growing tension between the party’s ascendant militant wing and Democrats competing in conservative-leaning terrain, was on vivid, split-screen display over the weekend. In Chicago, Senator Bernie Sanders led a revival-style meeting of his progressive devotees, while in Atlanta, Democrats made a final push to seize a traditionally Republican congressional district.

It may be essential for Democrats to reconcile the party’s two clashing impulses if they are to retake the House of Representatives in 2018. In a promising political environment, a drawn-out struggle over Democratic strategy and ideology could spill into primary elections and disrupt the party’s path to a majority.