"We must win," Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee urges Democrats

"The party, which is struggling with infighting and fundraising concerns, faces significant challenges, including an effort by Texas Republicans to redistrict Congressional maps to marginalize Democrats. The Democratic Party is also viewed as weak and ineffective by many Democratic-registered voters, according to a recent poll. Democratic officials are trying to coalesce around a strategy to confront Trump, who in recent weeks has deployed the National Guard in D.C. and threatened to send troops to other Democratic strongholds to crack down on crime and support immigration raids."

"Trump's verbal attacks on cities run by Democrats - including Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, San Francisco, and Oakland - have put mayors on the frontlines of this political battle, which may explain why Lee was brought in to address the party. Lee, who served nearly 30 years in the House of Representatives before running for mayor of Oakland, has become increasingly vocal in her criticism of Trump since the president claimed that Oakland and other cities are " so far gone " because of crime problems. "Now Donald Trump, you know he trashed Oakland, he lied about us, but Oakland is not afraid," Lee said in her speech on Monday."

Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee addressed Democratic National Committee officials in Minneapolis as party leaders planned strategy to oppose President Trump. Lee shared the meeting with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar, and State Senator John Hoffman. The party faces infighting, fundraising shortfalls, and threats from Texas Republicans to redistrict congressional maps. Polling shows many Democratic registrants view the party as weak. Officials are mapping responses to Trump's recent deployment of the National Guard and threats to send troops to Democratic cities. Mayors of Democratic-run cities have become front-line figures in confronting Trump's attacks on urban governance.

Read at The Oaklandside