Carville says this 'forceful' 4-word phrase should be Dems' 'core message' going into 2026

If Democrats hope to reclaim the majority in one or both chambers of Congress next year, they do it by uniting around a specific four-word phrase that Democratic strategist James Carville argues is key to success.

In a Monday op-ed for the New York Times, Carville — who was the strategist behind former President Bill Clinton's campaigns — said that while 2028 is a wide-open contest that could necessitate a "civil war" within the Democratic Party, no clear leader of the party will emerge until after the 2026 midterms. And he added that in order to win in 2026, Democrats need to unite all of their various competing factions under one umbrella: Railing against President Donald Trump's vastly unpopular tax and spending law.

"Our midterm march starts with a simple phrase every candidate can blast on every screen and stage: We demand a repeal," Carville said. "A 'repeal' of Mr. Trump’s spending law is the one word that should define the midterms. It is clear, forceful and full-throated. It must be slathered across every poster, every ad, every social media post from now until next November."

READ MORE: 'This was no accident': Trump blamed as health insurers prep to jack up premiums

Carville went on to say that repealing the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" should be Democrats' "core message." He observed that every Democratic candidate could harness outrage over the "disastrous bill" for "countless" reasons like the law's Medicaid cuts, ballooning of the federal deficit and its prolonging of foreign wars.

"We demand a repeal to protect Medicaid," Carville explained. "Trump’s law will slash roughly $1.1 trillion from health care programs, stripping coverage from an estimated 11.8 million people over the next decade. This will lead to a shuttering of rural hospitals and facilities, leaving people in red and purple states without vital health care. A vast majority of the public support Medicaid. This is a unifying issue. We demand a repeal."

According to the longtime Democratic strategist, Democrats have "never had a simpler, more unifying oppositional message" than demanding the repeal of Trump's law. And he proposed it could be what brings multiple diverse constituencies both within and outside of the Democratic party together, from socialist New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, to centrist Virginia gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger and even Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk.

"[W]e can all agree on one thing: We demand a repeal," Carville wrote. "Onward to the midterms."

READ MORE: 'Biggest thing that keeps Trump up at night': Dems announce major plan to counter GOP

Click here to read Carville's full op-ed in the New York Times (subscription required).