Democrats’ dilemma in 2020 presidential race: liberal vs. moderate

DUBUQUE, Iowa — As she waited to meet former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper at a recent house party in Dubuque, attorney Connie O’Connor was anxious about the liberal direction of the Democratic presidential primary.

“I know a lot of people who don’t want to vote for Donald Trump but don’t necessarily want to vote for the presidential version of Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez,” she said, referring to the recently elected progressive congresswoman from New York. “I think we forget those people are out there.”

But about 80 miles away, union organizer Eli Shepherd pointed to the thousands of people flocking to a Bernie Sanders rally at the University of Iowa as proof that the self-described democratic socialist is best positioned to beat the Republican now in the White House.

“People get brought in (to the campaign) because it’s something they deeply care about,” Shepherd said. “When there’s a campaign that’s actually focused on that, that’s what’s exciting, that’s what’s transformative, that’s how you win.”

Democrats have a long fight ahead over this question of who’s right.

The early days of the Democratic contest are dominated by a debate over whether candidates such as Sanders are moving the party too far left or whether the embrace of liberal priorities will fire up the base and help defeat Trump.

That debate is sure to deepen if former Vice President Joe Biden enters the race and tries to establish himself as a prominent centrist counterweight to Sanders, a Vermont senator. In the opening days of his 2020 campaign, former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke also has sought to appeal to both parties.

“There’s a tension, and that’s what presidential campaigns are about,” said Simon Rosenberg of the New Democratic Network.

So far,...