海角大神

Tom Perez, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, was all smiles Wednesday morning when he sat down for .

Democrat Andy Beshear of Kentucky looked set to beat the state鈥檚 unpopular Republican governor, Matt Bevin, by more than 5,000 votes 鈥� an upset victory, if it holds, in a state that voted for President Donald Trump by 30 percentage points. At press time, Governor Bevin had yet to concede, and a review of the Tuesday vote was underway.聽

Democrats also turned Virginia blue, winning majorities in both legislative chambers and giving Gov. Ralph Northam unified party control of the state for the first time since 1993.聽

Mr. Perez praised party unity and candidate quality for Tuesday鈥檚 results, as well as last year鈥檚 midterms, and played down the Republican sweep in Mississippi and all other statewide races in Kentucky.

鈥淥ur unity is our greatest strength as a party, and it鈥檚 Donald Trump鈥檚 worst nightmare,鈥� Mr. Perez said.聽

But the big unity test awaits: the 2020 election and the crowded, ideologically diverse Democratic field. Forces pushing and pulling on party cohesion are testing the Democrats in ways that have been building for years but could reach full flower next year.聽

For now, Democrats are united in one key way. Last week, all but two of 234 House Democrats voted to approve the ongoing impeachment inquiry into President Trump. Almost all Democratic senators, in the event of an impeachment trial, are expected to vote to convict 鈥� though as it appears now, Mr. Trump is highly unlikely to be removed from office prematurely.聽

鈥淧resumably, sometime within the next six months, the Democrats will have agreed on a nominee, and they have a lot of incentive to unite behind that nominee,鈥� says Seth Masket, a political scientist at the University of Denver. 鈥淭hey are highly motivated to unseat Donald Trump.鈥澛�

Beating Mr. Trump next November could well be difficult, especially if the Democrats nominate a candidate who many members deem too left-wing. The intraparty debate over key policies 鈥� on health care, immigration, the Green New Deal, foreign policy 鈥� could fracture the party at a time when it needs unity most.聽

Mr. Perez asserts that the big, diverse Democratic presidential field is a plus, that debate is healthy, and that the candidates have agreed to support the eventual nominee.聽

鈥淓very candidate running for president understands that this is not about them,鈥� Mr. Perez said. 鈥淭his is about our democracy at a critical inflection point. And that is why I asked every candidate not only to pledge to support the nominee, but to pledge to actively campaign for the nominee.鈥�

Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, who had raised suspicions that she might run as an independent, took that pledge 鈥渆nthusiastically,鈥� Mr. Perez said. 鈥淪he told us, 鈥業 am not running as a third-party candidate.鈥欌��

Mr. Perez also says all the candidates have agreed to deploy top aides to help the eventual nominee and, perhaps most important, share their voter data. That final point 鈥� sharing data 鈥� is something Bernie Sanders didn鈥檛 do when he lost the 2016 Democratic nomination to Hillary Clinton.聽

Some Democrats are concerned that a nominee who is too left-wing 鈥� or a self-identified democratic socialist, as with Senator Sanders 鈥� could damage the party鈥檚 chances across the board.聽

鈥淏ehind the scenes there鈥檚 this low-grade civil war going on,鈥� says Jim Manley, a Democratic strategist who was a top aide to former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. 鈥淚f Bernie doesn鈥檛 get the nomination, what do his folks do? If Elizabeth Warren gets the nomination, how much angst does that cause to Democrats?鈥澛�

Mr. Manley points specifically to the debate over health care policy, and Senator Warren鈥檚 proposal to institute Medicare For All, which would eliminate private insurance and cost $20.5 trillion over 10 years.聽

鈥淥bviously, Republicans will have a field day, but it could also be a disaster for down-ballot Democrats,鈥� Mr. Manley says.聽

Republicans who oppose Mr. Trump are also concerned about the Democrats鈥� ability to weather the coming 2020 storm.聽

鈥淭hey need a strategy to beat Trump,鈥� says Rick Tyler, former aide to top Republicans and a Trump critic. 鈥淭he strategy isn鈥檛 getting into the mud with Trump or complaining about who he is and how he acts.鈥�

Mr. Perez doesn鈥檛 believe in unilateral disarmament when it comes to fighting Mr. Trump. 鈥淚鈥檓 not going to go to a knife fight with a spoon,鈥� he said. But he also says he subscribes to Michelle Obama鈥檚 maxim, 鈥淲hen they go low, we go high.鈥澛�

鈥淢y variant on that is when they go low, we go vote,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hen they go lower, we make sure that everyone around us can vote who鈥檚 eligible to vote.鈥�

Mr. Perez pointed to Mr. Beshear of Kentucky, currently the state鈥檚 attorney general, as a model for how to go up against a Trump-like candidate and come out on top. 鈥淩ead what he said last night,鈥� Mr. Perez said. 鈥淗e wants to take care of the least of Kentuckians, and he has a proven track record of doing that.鈥澛�

Another challenge for Mr. Perez is fundraising. The DNC has fallen far short of the Republican National Committee on that score, but Mr. Perez insisted the party is doing fine. On the question of whether the DNC would greenlight a corporate-funded super PAC to help the party, he suggested not.聽

鈥淲e have been very clear that we don鈥檛 take money from organizations that are inconsistent with our values,鈥� he said.聽

Allies of former Vice President Joe Biden recently filed paperwork to set up a super PAC that would be funded by wealthy individuals and corporate donations, with the Biden campaign鈥檚 blessing.聽

鈥淓very candidate has to run the campaign that he or she believes is best for them,鈥� Mr. Perez said.聽

In New Hampshire, which holds the nation鈥檚 first primary on Feb. 11, voters expressed concern about party unity.聽

In the debates, 鈥渢hey鈥檙e eating their own young,鈥� says Fred Ferris, a voter from Saco, Maine, who came to Rochester, New Hampshire, to hear Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar speak.

Mr. Ferris says he will vote for the Democratic nominee no matter who it is 鈥� a common sentiment in New Hampshire.聽

There鈥檚 also a practice among seasoned political operatives in New Hampshire of reaching out to losing candidates as well as their staffers and supporters, in the name of party unity.聽

鈥淲e will be the people who will soothe egos,鈥� says one operative, who did not want to be named. 鈥淲e all live in the same towns. Those are our neighbors that might be disappointed.鈥�

Staff writer Christa Case Bryant contributed to this report from Rochester, New Hampshire.