WASHINGTON — The Democrats’ widespread losses last week have revived a debate inside the party about its fundamental identity, a long-running feud between center and left that has taken on new urgency in the aftermath of a disastrous election and in a time of deeply felt economic anxiety.
The discussion is taking place in postelection meetings, conference calls and dueling memos from liberals and moderates. But it will soon grow louder, shaping the actions of congressional Democrats in President Obama’s final two years and, more notably, defining the party’s presidential primaries in 2016.
“The debate will ultimately play out in a battle for the soul of the Clinton campaign,” said Matt Bennett, a senior official at Third Way, the centrist political group.
Hillary Rodham Clinton, should she run, will face tension between the business-friendly wing of the party, which was ascendant in the economic boom during her husband’s administration, and the populism of Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, which has gained currency of late.
“I want her to run on a raising-wages agenda and not cater to Wall Street, but to everyday people,” Richard L. Trumka, president of the A.F.L.-C.I.O., said of his expectations for Mrs. Clinton.
Straddling the two blocs could prove difficult. Progressives have been emboldened to criticize party leaders since the Republican rout, particularly given the lack of a coherent Democratic message to address the problem of stagnant wages.
Sifting through returns showing that lower-income voters either supported Republicans or did not vote, liberals argue that without a more robust message about economic fairness, the party will continue to suffer among working-class voters, particularly in the South and Midwest.
Mr. Obama’s wide popularity among activists and his attempt to transcend the traditional moderate-versus-liberal divide have largely papered over Democratic divisions on economic policy for the last six years. The party was also brought together by the passage of the health care law. But with Mr. Obama’s popularity flagging and the economic recovery largely benefiting the affluent, Democrats are clashing anew.