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Diminished in Congress and many states, Dems weigh future

FILE - In this April 3, 2014 file photo, Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va. speaks outside the West Wing of the White House in Washington. Congressional Democrats are on a retreat in more ways than one this week. As Democratic lawmakers gather in Baltimore to talk strategy and lick election wounds, their party faces diminished powers in Congress, GOP dominance in the states, and a shrinking pool of potential candidates for future elections. The picture is especially bleak in the South, where some Democrats hope courts will overturn GOP-controlled “gerrymandering” of congressional and state legislative districts. Elsewhere, Democrats in swing states say their party must get better at highlighting the improved economy and the surge in energy production under President Obama. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File) FILE - In this April 3, 2014 file photo, Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va. speaks outside the West Wing of the White House in Washington. Congressional Democrats are on a retreat in more ways than one this week. As Democratic lawmakers gather in Baltimore to talk strategy and lick election wounds, their party faces diminished powers in Congress, GOP dominance in the states, and a shrinking pool of potential candidates for future elections. The picture is especially bleak in the South, where some Democrats hope courts will overturn GOP-controlled “gerrymandering” of congressional and state legislative districts. Elsewhere, Democrats in swing states say their party must get better at highlighting the improved economy and the surge in energy production under President Obama. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)

By Associated Press January 14, 2015 1 min read

WASHINGTON (AP) – Congressional Democrats are on a retreat in more ways than one this week.

As Democratic lawmakers gather at a retreat in Baltimore to talk strategy, their party faces diminished powers in Congress, and they see GOP dominance in many states.

They also worry about a shrinking pool of potential candidates for future elections.

The picture is especially bleak in the South. Some southern Democrats hope courts will overturn GOP-controlled “gerrymandering” of legislative districts.

Elsewhere, Democrats in swing states say their party must get better at highlighting the improved economy and a surge in energy production under President Barack Obama.

Democrats remain bullish about presidential elections. They’ve won the popular vote in five of the last six contests. And they’re hopeful about a 2016 field that could include Hillary Rodham Clinton.