Democrats talk 2026 election strategy at NAACP convention in Charlotte. What is it?
Congressional Democrats laid out their strategy for recapturing power in Washington at the NAACP National Convention in Charlotte, and called on Black voters to take action to help make it happen.
Illinois Rep. Lauren Underwood, New York Rep. Yvette Clark and Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson addressed the convention Monday on a panel entitled “Crisis Point: Defending Democracy and Civil Rights in a Volatile Political Climate.” The four-day convention at the Charlotte Convention Center is expected to bring thousands to uptown for the annual meeting of one of the nation’s oldest civil rights groups.
Underwood said her party’s message “has to start with the economy” if Democrats want to win back a majority in the U.S. House and Senate in the 2026 midterm elections. She called for specific plans focused on increasing affordable housing, access to health care and job training in the era of AI.
“We will not win just assuming that people don’t like Donald Trump,” she said.
Despite Underwood’s warning, much of Monday’s panel focused on criticism of the Trump administration.
The panel said the health care funding cuts in Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” will be devastating for pregnant woman and elderly people who rely on Medicaid to pay for their medical needs.
North Carolina Republican Party spokesman Matt Mercer, pushed back on the claims, saying in a statement to The Charlotte Observer that the legislation “protects and strengthens Medicaid for those it was intended to serve.“
“Democrats declined to participate in helping President Trump and Republicans enact the most pro-middle class agenda in our lifetime and have shown through their actions they are more interested in elitist pet projects instead of helping everyday Americans,” Mercer said.
The convention panel also said Trump’s executive order trying to end birthright citizenship is a threat to Black Americans. A federal judge issued a new nationwide block of the order last week. Birthright citizenship — the rule that anyone born in the U.S. is an American citizen — was enshrined in the U.S. Constitution through the 14th Amendment in the wake of the Civil War.
“It has to do with us. We’re at the heart of it,” Clark said. “And if they can break that, they can break us.”
Underwood said congressional Republicans have “effectively neutered the legislative branch” by rubber-stamping Trump’s agenda.
“The founding fathers never envisioned that they would have a president who would want to be a king, and that the members of the Congress would also let it happen,” she said.
The panel called on the convention crowd to educate themselves on their rights and speak out about their concerns — and not just online. Underwood said attendees should request in-person meetings with their congressional representatives and show up to town hall meetings and other public events.
“They’ll be so pressed to take a picture with you because they know that they can take a picture with a Black person. You know what I’m saying?” she said. “Roll up at the church and take a picture. That’s our opportunity to have a conversation about the impacts of these health care cuts and what’s happening in our community.”
This story was originally published July 14, 2025 at 1:17 PM.
