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After the presidential election, the losing party faces a crossroads. The message from voters is clear. Look in the mirror, recalibrate, and be ready to come back even stronger by the midterm elections.
This process often devolves into internal blame games, leadership changes, and ideological purges that look more like a therapy session than a strategic plan.
Having debated Trump surrogates more than 200 times on right-wing networks, I've seen firsthand how Republicans use discontent to galvanize their base and expand support. Through countless conversations this year, it has become clear that Donald Trump and his campaign are not offering original solutions or innovative policies. But what they offered, better than many Democrats, was a story of victory built on the magnitude of change voters wanted.
Former President Trump takes the stage during a campaign rally at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona, on August 23, 2024. (Rebecca Noble/Getty Images)
Although we are a progressive party, we are reluctant to move forward with the evolving political world. We reuse the same candidates, the same messages, the same strategies and expect new results. For many voters, our party represents the status quo.
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Our political opponents use terms like the establishment and “swamp” to describe our leaders to skeptical voters. Voters looking for change and a sense of real progress are often frustrated by what they perceive to be the regime's use of a repetitive approach to power.
Democrats have policies that address the nation's most important issues, but policies alone cannot win elections. Elections are all about storytelling. It's about meeting voters where they are and weaving their concerns into a compelling and relatable message.
During my time in the state Senate, I witnessed this dynamic play out during the Great Recession. My constituents were very concerned about affordability. While I worked on environmental protection, health care reform, and infrastructure, I reframed those priorities through the lens of what matters most to my constituents' lives: their wallets.
Democrats can't buy anything like Trump's true credibility.
This cycle, Democrats struggled to connect with voters on the same pressing concern: affordability. Despite the Biden administration's positive economic indicators, such as lower unemployment, GDP growth, and easing inflation, many Americans were not feeling an economic recovery. Gas, food, and housing costs loomed larger in their minds. Republicans are not at the table to solve these problems. They simply expressed it better and positioned themselves as champions of change.
Our challenge now is not to redefine who we are, but to refocus how we communicate. At its core, the Democratic Party is a party of working families, unions, and equal opportunity. But we allowed these core values to be buried beneath competing narratives, thereby confusing voters about what we stand for and who we stand for.
To capture the attention of voters, you need to step outside your comfort zone. As someone who has represented the ideals of the Democratic Party on a right-leaning platform, I have learned the importance of listening to and debating opposing viewpoints. President Trump's surrogates often reframe the issue to put Democrats on the defensive, assuming they fall back on moral rather than practical arguments.
The people rejected legal action when Trump was re-elected.
To influence these debates in unfriendly territory, we needed to stay rooted in solutions that resonated with voters' everyday concerns. This approach – engagement rather than retreat – must be the guiding principle in moving the party forward.
Addressing the concerns of voters who did not elect us is not a sign of weakness. That's leadership. By engaging skeptics, we can build trust, strengthen our policies, and show the American people that we are fighting for everyone, not just those who are already cornered.
Operating only within echo chambers will only lead to infighting and eliminate coalitions from the Democratic Party.
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The future of the Democratic Party is not about rewriting our core principles. It's about better understanding voters' grievances and aspirations and responding to them with empathy and clarity. Acceptance is the key. It's about embracing the election results, the concerns that have driven voters this cycle, and the diverse coalition that calls this party home.
Now is the time to look outward rather than inward. To meet voters where they are and show them that we are the party of inclusion, empathy and solutions. We have spent too much time looking in the mirror.
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