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Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe refused to name a single leader of his party when pressed by MSNBCs Katy Tur during an interview Wednesday.

I think there are many leaders of the Democratic Party, the Virginia Democrat demurred.

Ms. Tur repeatedly asked for a politicians name, but Mr. McAuliffe refused, saying, Im not going to give you Ill say the governors who are leading their states, creating jobs, building infrastructure, building an education system that works.

We have to balance our budgets, unlike Washington, he continued. They print money, and they still cant balance a budget. We create jobs. We build infrastructure. We do education. Governors need to lead the way. But, you know, we need some action out of Washington to help us compete on a global basis. And today, were not seeing anything out of Washington. It is broken.

Ms. Tur complained that shes asked a number of Democrats who the leader of the party is and she has yet to get a straight answer, adding, What does that say?

I dont think, Katy, there is one person today, Mr. McAuliffe answered. I run the state of Virginia today. Thats what I got elected to do, and 66 percent of the state think were headed in the right direction. People are happy in Virginia, but what people on the national level people got to worry about what they got elected to do.

Mr. McAuliffes deflection matches that of many Democrats who have been unwilling or unable to name a leader of the party since Hillary Clintons election defeat to President Trump in November. Some House Democrats have called for Nancy Pelosi to step aside as minority leader after Republican Karen Handel defeated Democrat Jon Ossoff in Georgias special election last month.

A video compilationreleased by the Washington Free Beacon in late April showed Democrats, including former Vice President Joseph R. Biden and Mrs. Pelosi herself, refusing to name one leader of the party.

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Terry McAuliffe refuses to name leader of Democratic Party ... - Washington Times

Newest challenger is business consultant from St. Lawrence County

Tedra Cobb.

Republican Congresswoman Elise Stefanik has another Democrat vying to unseat her in 2018.

Tedra Cobb, a business consultant from St. Lawrence County, announced her campaign on the Fourth of July by marching in the village of Norwood parade.

Elise Stefanik is a nice person, but Washington has changed her, Cobb, 49, said in a prepared statement. We just dont have the luxury of time to wait for her to find her way out of the D.C. swamp and back to the North Country. Elise has made too many mistakes too soon.

Elise has violated the first rule of health care:First, do no harm. And now, she must be held accountable.Elise made a deal and voted for a health care law that will close hospitals, nursing homes and assisted living facilities in upstate New York.

Cobb said the House Republicans' American Health Care Act, which Stefanik voted in favor of, will also cut Medicaid expansion in the areas of mental health and addiction.

We need more focus on fighting bootleg opioids from China and Mexico and more money to treat those already addicted, she said. The bottom line: Rural healthcare is on the chopping block and time is running out."

Stefaniks campaign spokesman, Lenny Alcivar, provided the following statement in response:

There will be a time and a place for electoral politics. For now, Congresswoman Stefanik is focused on her bipartisan work delivering real results for the hardworking families and small businesses across the 21st District, not on politics.

Cobb is spending the week touring the district. She made stops in Watertown, Glens Falls and Schuylerville on Thursday, and on Saturday shell be at the Voters for Change Progressive Summer Camp in Paul Smiths.

Cobb is the third Democrat to announce plans to seek Stefaniks 21st Congressional District seat, joining Katie Wilson of Essex County and Patrick Nelson of Stillwater.

Cobb, who lives in Canton, also served on the St. Lawrence County Board of Legislators and as a member of the state Committee on Open Government. In 2014, she was appointed to the states North Country Health Systems Redesign Commission.

Stefanik, of Willsboro, was elected in 2014 to represent the district, which stretches from Saratoga and Fulton counties to the Canadian border.

She was the youngest woman ever elected to Congress when she took office at age 30.

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3rd Democrat enters race to unseat Stefanik - The Daily Gazette

Democrats would do best if they abandon broad economic reformsand a more leftward political program, argued Mark Penn,a strategist known best for advising Bill and Hillary Clinton, in the pages of the New York Times Opinion section. Penn wrote that the Democratic Party mustmove to the center and reject the siren calls of the left.

Progressives have long viewed Penn with deep skepticism, noting that he has repeatedly used his close ties to Democratic officials as a vehicle for promoting his corporate clients. But theres another wrinkle to Penns advice: He now invests in Republican advocacy firms and profits from the electoral defeat of Democrats.

In March, Penns investment firm Stagwell Media LLC announced that it had acquired a minority stake in Targeted Victory, a major Republican digital consulting company. Targeted Victory, founded by personnel from Mitt Romneys 2012 presidential campaign, wasprovided consulting servicesfor Donald Trumps presidential campaign. More recently, following Penns investment in the firm, Targeted Victory assisted Republican Karen Handel in her successful campaign against Democrat Jon Ossoff in the Georgia special election last month.

Stagwell Media did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

Penns opinion column sparked a number of rebuttals on social media, with many pointing to his disastrous role advising Hillary Clinton during the 2008 primaries as a major reason people should distrust Penns advice. According to one report, Penn designed Clintons strategy based on the false assumptionthat Californias primary awarded delegates on a winner-take-all basis, instead of a proportional system. Such basic mistakes by the Clinton campaign were reportedly pivotal in Barack Obamas primary victory.

While Penn gained a new fortune by advising Microsoft, in more recent years he has slowly grown an investment portfolio that includes several lobbying and public affairs firms. Penn also owns SKDKnickerbocker, a Democrat-run company that develops policy campaigns on behalf of corporate clients including for-profit colleges, AT&T, and Herbalife.

Top photo: Mark Penn, chief strategist and pollster for Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Clinton, speaks to reporters in the spin room after the Democratic debate at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire on January 5, 2008.

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Clinton Strategist Mark Penn Pushes Democrats to Move to Center And Quietly Profits From GOP Victories - The Intercept

Belleville News-Democrat

Brendan Kelly is running for Congress. This is why. Belleville News-Democrat On Wednesday, Kelly sat in his former sixth grade classroom and told the Belleville News-Democrat during an interview he would run for Congress' in Illinois' 12th District. Wolf Branch is where I went to elementary school when my mom and dad first ... and more »

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Brendan Kelly is running for Congress. This is why. - Belleville News-Democrat

A member of House Democratic leadership refused to say Wednesday whether he believes Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi should remain in her leadership role as Democrats try to move on from their loss in last month's special election in Georgia.

"No one person is more important than this country," House Democratic Assistant Whip Rep. Tony Cardenas, D-Calif., said in an interview on CNN. "And the bottom line is this: We need to move forward with our best foot forward, with the best plan, with the best individuals and having the best, honest message."

When pressed on whether Democrats could do that with Pelosi, D-Calif., as the Democratic leader, Cardenas dodged the question.

"As far as I'm concerned, we have to look in the mirror and realize whether we can or can't, and then move forward and make some tough decisions," he said.

Some House Democrats began calling for a leadership change after Republican Karen Handel defeated Democrat Jon Ossoff in Georgia's special election last month. The two were running to fill the seat in Georgia's 6th Congressional District, which was vacated by Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price.

Cardenas was part of a group of more than a dozen Democrats who met last month to discuss if, and how, they should replace Pelosi ahead of the 2018 midterm elections.

But Pelosi dismissed any notion that she would be replaced and said those calling for her to step down were more interested in promoting themselves.

"When it comes to personal ambition and having fun on TV, have your fun," she said in a news conference last month. "I love the arena. I thrive on competition, and I welcome the discussion."

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Leading Democrat Tony Cardenas won't say whether Nancy Pelosi can move party forward - Washington Examiner