We’ve now witnessed seven Democratic debates ahead of the Iowa Caucus this February. At this point, it’s clear that Biden, Sanders, and Warren have a legitimate shot at becoming the nominee, whereas the rest will likely go home after the first few primaries. These frontrunners are now the subject of a growing dilemma that’s undermining party unity and raising questions about its future vision.

Four years ago, the Republican Party had to grapple with the rise of Trump, who undermined Republican orthodoxy whenever it suited him. Democrats enjoyed watching Trump make a mockery of his fellow candidates and the entire primary process as he split the Party and severed the head of the Republican establishment. Little did they know that Trump, whom they didn’t consider a serious candidate, could galvanize enough popular support to actually become president and remake the Republican Party altogether.

Currently, Democrats are facing a similar dilemma. The leading candidates have very different visions for the Party and for the country. It remains unclear whether or not unity can exist between the (comparatively) moderate establishment faction of the Party, represented by Biden, and the radical anti-establishment faction, represented by Sanders and Warren.

Hillary’s shocking defeat in 2016 gave the populist movement on both sides of the aisle momentum to last a generation. Trump’s presidency will leave its mark on Republican politics just as Reagan’s presidency did 30 years ago with the revitalization of Goldwater conservatism and an America-first foreign policy. The same can be said for Democratic politics, as Sanders and Warren are claiming to fight for the American worker over the greed of the corporate elite.

However, unlike with Trump in 2016, there’s no clear frontrunner behind whom voters can rally. Biden has proven to be too mistake-prone to gain a significant polling edge; Sanders hasn’t proven from his 2016 bid that he can rally enough support among African Americans and Evangelicals in the Deep South; and it’s unclear how Warren’s personality and charisma will be received by the electorate.

Another, more immediate problem looms over Democratic candidates as they try to oust Trump in November: Trump’s impeachment trial. From watching the primary debates, it’s clear that impeachment is the elephant in the room that the candidates want to avoid. The reason for this is simple: each candidate feels that he/she has something unique to offer and wants his/her ideas and platforms to shine through the shadow of a messy, highly politicized impeachment trial that isn’t popular with independents.

Jumping on the impeachment bandwagon not only makes the candidates look opportunistic and, ironically, undemocratic but also fuels the narrative that Democrats are running primarily on an anti-Trump platform, which, as evidenced by Hillary’s campaign, is an optic that isn’t likely to get out the vote. As such, handing out 30 engraved souvenir pens with Pelosi’s name on them at a joyous impeachment ceremony served only to strengthen the narrative that Trump’s impeachment is merely a Democratic ploy to overturn the results of the 2016 election.

So far, the winning party in this fight is President Trump, who can sit back and watch a bumbling impeachment trial unfold while Democratic candidates vie for supremacy on the debate stage. Moreover, Trump can rejoice over the fact that Democrats have not learned from their mistake of gambling all their chips on a Mueller investigation that failed to uncover the treasonous evidence they hoped would sink the President.

All of this amounts to a Democratic Party with an uncertain future. The problem is threefold: Democrats can’t agree on a unified vision for the future of their party, they can’t formulate a coherent strategy to defeat Trump at the ballot box, and House members went all-in on an impeachment that isn't likely to survive past the Senate trial.

On the other hand, who can blame them? Democrats know all too well that a second term for Trump will allow him to double-down on his platform, which, at least for now, is presiding over a healthy and robust economy. Trump’s reelection would ensure that hard-fought Democratic initiatives, such as nationalized healthcare, gun control, and a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants, would be shelved and set back for another four years.

Perhaps most importantly, Democrats realize that a two-term Trump would likely have the opportunity to appoint a third and maybe even a fourth judge to the Supreme Court, which would ensure a conservative interpretation of the Constitution for decades to come. Therefore, in the eyes of Democrats, it’s easy to see why desperate times call for desperate measures.

However, if Democrats cannot unify around a single vision and mount a campaign against Trump issue by issue, they will again fall prey to the event about which they were in denial in 2016 - another victory for Trump at the ballot box.