Progressives are debating who should lead their movement as they seek to remake the Democratic Party in a new populist mold following devastating losses in November.

Initial conversations are starting to take place on the left among political strategists, activists and sources close to lawmakers about who is poised to advocate for their flank in the coming Trump era.

Some believe the progressive left is at its best without a dominant figurehead tethered to Washington, instead shifting much of the power and influence within the movement to the grassroots.

“The progressive movement is strongest when we aren’t over-reliant on any single leader to guide us forward,” said Usamah Andrabi, spokesperson for Justice Democrats.

After helping to identify and recruit progressive candidates from working-class backgrounds, Andrabi says he sees an upside “when we build the collective power of the people that no amount of corporate influence or super PAC spending can break.”

As progressives prepare to face an incoming Republican-controlled Senate and House, some believe there’s even more of an imperative to seize on the anger felt toward Democrats who lost both the executive and legislative branches of government and channel it towards a search for a strong leader.

“They’re especially not going to care now that the Democrats got handed so thoroughly,” said Nina Turner, who co-chaired Sen. Bernie Sanders’s (I-Vt) 2020 campaign. “They’re going to say they don’t want more of the same.”

“The Democrats need an opposite and equal force in terms of celebrity,” Turner said, referring to President-elect Trump.

Finding that “celebrity” figure — a charismatic leader who resoundingly rejects corporatism — has its challenges in a capitalist country. But progressives like Turner are urging fellow leftists to look beyond places........

© The Hill