WASHINGTON The seven leading candidates to serve as the next chair of the Democratic National Committee gathered at George Washington University on Wednesday night to dodge key questions about party reform and pander to the 447 insiders who will elect the next Democratic leader.

At a debate sponsored by The Huffington Post, contenders repeatedly called for unity and made vague calls for better organizing while sidestepping important issues about how the DNC should govern its future affairs.

Many committed Democrats are following the DNC race as a fight for the future of the party. After a devastating presidential defeat and nearly a decade of steady losses in Congress and at the state level, there arent many other political battles for party activists to focus on. But the candidates themselves are not catering to grass-roots organizers or rank-and-file voters. Theyre seeking the support of a majority of DNC members mostly state party leaders and political appointees and doing their damnedest to avoid ruffling any feathers. If any of the candidates on stage Wednesday were auditioning to serve as the opposition leader against President-elect Donald Trump , s/he managed to fool everyone.