Who’s the boss? We asked 10 Democratic leaders in Philly who they consider the head of their party.

It’s no secret Democrats are in the midst of a bit of an identity crisis. As they wrestle with how to win back voters who switched sides or stayed home in recent elections, they are also grappling with who is leading that effort.

Elected Democrats in Philadelphia weighed in on whom they see as their party’s national leader at the traditional election day lunch on Tuesday. The question prompted varied answers and a heavy dose of concern about what the uncertainty means for building party unity and momentum.

Tuesday’s primary election — when turnout did not appear to hit even 20% despite a Democratic primary for district attorney — further emphasized an electorate that is fractured and disengaged. At the polls, Democratic voters gave a range of opinions when asked to name their national figurehead.

Pamela Renninger, 69, a Northeast Philadelphia voter, said she views U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D., N.J.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D., N.Y.) as the national leaders of the party.

“I see a couple people that have really stood out, but I don’t think anybody’s been really strong enough and carried the goodwill of the people that are voting, like it’s just been too insane,” she said.

Booker made history and headlines last month when he delivered a record-breaking marathon speech, which lasted more than 25 hours, in opposition to Trump’s agenda.

Jeffries occupies one of the party’s most visible posts as the top Democrat in the U.S. House, where Republicans hold a narrow majority. He is positioned to become the first Black speaker of the House if the party gains enough seats in next year’s congressional elections.

In West Philadelphia, Darla Cobb, 63, said her ideal leader would be U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D., Texas).

“She’s not afraid of those bullies, she’s speaking for women, she tells the truth,” she said. “She’s knows the deal.”

Here’s what Democrats gathered at the election day lunch at South Restaurant & Jazz Club had to say:

“We don’t have one,” City Councilmember Isaiah Thomas said.

He thinks Democrats are “stagnant” right now. “I think we’re in a time of transition. And I think the baton is not always being passed the way it should be.”

Thomas, who spearheaded an initiative to get more Black men registered to vote in Philadelphia ahead of the 2024 presidential election, said party members need to listen more directly to people living in Philadelphia’s neighborhoods. “I don’t know if we got a good pulse on what’s going on with people in the neighborhoods from a national lens.”

State Sen. Anthony Hardy Williams, who represents West Philadelphia, also said the helm felt vacant. “Chaos shakes things up,” he said. “We’re at our lowest point. It don’t get much worse.”

Ryan Boyer, business manager for the influential Philadelphia Building and Construction Trades Council, said Govs. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, Wes Moore of Maryland, and JB Pritzker of Illinois are all people the party should be listening to.

“Some of the best solutions come from governors because they have to govern. And I like Josh because he has to govern with both parties, and he’s doing it effectively,” Boyer said.

City Controller Christy Brady also picked her home state governor. “I only think about Josh Shapiro being president,” she said. “That’s what I want, so I consider him the leader.”

Fresh off the rally circuit with U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (Ind., Vt.), U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.) was the pick of City Councilmember Jamie Gauthier.

“That’s the person who I look to for inspiration. I can’t say that there’s a definitive party leader at this very moment.”

District Attorney Larry Krasner said “the people” lead the party.

“Some of the leadership in the Democratic Party have lost touch with the people. They have lost touch with working-class people. And it’s a problem that we have,” he said.

“It is time for the Democratic Party to grow the tent, to embrace its progressive members, to embrace its young members, its members of color — all the people who didn’t turn out for the presidential election need to be brought back in.”

Mayor Cherelle L. Parker first struggled to name Ken Martin, the new head of the Democratic National Committee. But then she, too, said she thought “the people are our real leaders.”

“All people, Americans, they’re our leaders and we have leaders at every branch of government here in the U.S. … We put people on the path to self-sufficiency, and there’s a seat for everyone at our table for anyone and everyone who wants to be a part of it,” she said.

The state party chairman, State Sen. Sharif Street, initially named Martin but said in terms of the “philosophical, ideological leader,” he considered that to be former President Barack Obama.

“When he speaks up, people still listen. I think he’s still the person with the greatest capacity to bring us together, but I think other people will emerge,” Street said. “Gov. Shapiro has a chance to emerge. Cory Booker. There are other people, but right now, the person who has the greatest capacity to unify Democrats is President Obama. He uses that power sparingly.”

City Council President Kenyatta Johnson said he would love to see Booker “continue to ascend to be the leader of the Democratic Party.”

“I thought it took a lot of heart and courage for him to do the 24-hour resistance filibuster,” Johnson said of Booker’s record-breaking Senate floor speech. “That just showed a lot in terms of just standing in the face of everything that we’re seeing, all the negative coming out of Washington, D.C. And it’s a lot of heart and courage to do it. And I think it also uplifted a lot of people around the nation who are feeling a lot of uncertainty with this current administration.”

Staff writers Aliya Schneider and Nate File contributed to this article.