Can Democrats regroup after midterm defeat?
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After taking a beating in the midterm elections, Democrats will next year have to navigate their way through a Congress where they have lost majority control, which means a plateful of challenges for the beleaguered party.
"Democrats in Congress will have a hard time regrouping after the loss," said John Fortier, fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.
The elections saw Republicans take the House of Representatives while Democrats clung to the Senate by a slim margin, as voters expressed their disappointment in a Democrat-led Congress under whose watch unemployment lingers near the double digits.
The next Congress will see a more liberal Democratic party, as voters booted out many moderates within the party's ranks. On the flip side, wins by a number of Republican tea party candidates have shifted that party further to the right, which will likely lead to a more polarized Congress in which Democrats will have a hard time passing any major legislation, some experts said.
While a post-election U.S. President Barack Obama appeared humbled and voiced a message of cooperation, some Democrats are already pushing him not to compromise with Republicans.
Ryan McConaghy, deputy director of the economic program at Third Way, said Democrats will need to move to the moderate middle to reconnect with voters, who sent a clear signal that they want to see results from Washington.
"If Democrats ignore that message, they do so at their own peril," he said.
This comes at a time when many Democrats in Congress are more liberal than many Americans and many Republicans are more conservative than many Americans.
Darrell M. West, director of Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution, said how each party manages its base while reaching out to Independents is the central dilemma for the next two years, as it will not be easy to keep the base happy while also making appeals to the political center.
Still, Democrats on Friday jumped one hurdle by settling some questions on party leadership for the next Congress.
Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and Whip James Clyburn will retain leadership positions, with Hoyer taking over as whip when the new Congress convenes next year. Clyburn is expected to take the no. 3 position, and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi could well retain her position, as she has decided not to step down.
