As Democratic Sen. Cory Booker neared Strom Thurmond’s record for the longest speech in Senate history Tuesday night, the typically sparsely filled viewing galleries above the Senate floor grew packed.

Sen. Cory Booker's (D-N.J.) marathon speech on the Senate floor won the floundering Democratic Party something it has desperately needed in the Trump era: attention and the applause of its base. The big picture: Top Democrats believe they are in their deepest hole in nearly 50 years after losing the White House,