What Next for the Democrats?

The American people have re-elected Donald Trump to be their next President, beating Vice-President Harris by a comfortable margin, leading to major questions surrounding the Democratic Party.

The blame game has already begun within their downcast ranks. Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi blamed Biden and his decisions to stand for re-election instead of stepping aside last year. This is an element that undoubtedly contributed to Harris’s loss. Without a proper primary contest, the Democrats were unable to carry out a legitimate competition for the nomination. Without the primaries people were unable to scrutinise and select their preferred candidate. It has to be remembered that in the 2020 primaries Harris performed abysmally, dropping out before Iowa, so the question of whether she would have been the best candidate is a valid one. What this shows is that the Democrats are experiencing election grief. They are in disbelief at their failure to prevent a second Trump term and a united Republican Government. The blame game erupting in the Democratic Party symbolises their current position, which is that they are utterly lost. 

A major issue with the Democratic party of late is that no one truly knows what they stand for. This campaign consisted of Democrats appealing to the middle. Appearing with the likes of the Cheney’s signalled their shift to the centre. This was while at the same time running a ticket consisting of two historically progressive democrats in Harris and Walz. Their base felt alienated while the swing voters weren’t convinced. They tried to appeal to everyone by playing the middle ground and ultimately sent a catastrophically mixed message. The Democrats lacked any note of synergy or direction and require foundational reform as a party in order to rebuild their base of support and rediscover their principles. Bernie Sanders believes this lies in refocusing their efforts on traditional Democratic and more left leaning policies to reconnect with working class Americans. He claims the Democrats have abandoned working class people. Under Obama, issues like Healthcare, tax reform and workers’ rights were central to the Democratic party but in recent years, these pragmatic policies and a focus on hard hitting issues have been left by the wayside in favour of wider social debates and cultural issues. 

The culture war that has erupted in America has engulfed the Democratic party. Although equality and social inclusion are vitally important, middle America believes their economic woes have been forgotten about whilst the Democrats focus on social problems that to many are completely alien. This is where the Democrats messed up royally with their messaging in this election campaign, they were simply focusing on the wrong things. Abortion brings this out. It was central to the Harris campaign and was pivotal in the construction of her narrative that represented herself as a protector of American ideals and Trump as the threat. It was believed that women would turn out in their millions for Harris, but this did not obtain, in fact Biden had greater support among women than Harris achieved. However, abortion was on the ballot in ten states and seven of them protected the right to an abortion. States like Nevada and Arizona protected the right while simultaneously backing Trump this time around. Deep red states such as Missouri and Montana also voted in favour of abortion. The pro-choice stance of millions of Americans did not translate into votes for Harris. This suggests that abortion was not a factor for many when electing the President. The belief Harris and the Democrats tried to instil in people, that American rights were under attack, did not bear fruit as many had the opportunity to protect them separately from the Presidential and Congressional races. For the majority of Americans, the federal elections were about the economic environment that America finds itself in and the promise of opportunity and prosperity from the candidates. 

"Are you better off than you were four years ago". That is what Reagan asked Americans in the 80s, and that is the question Trump asked Americans in 2024. Trump and the Republicans succeeded in this cycle because they hit home with their message. They connected with people’s feelings of anger and desperation, with the standard of living that now has become their norm. Harris and the Democrats ignored major failings of the Biden administration such as economic hardship, fuelled by rising inflation. The Democratic message was misguided with too much of a focus on the apparent threat from Trump and discussion about rights and freedoms, with few conversations about solutions to the economic troubles of America’s working class.

The Democratic party needs to return to their roots of standing up for working class people. They are the party of F.D. Roosevelt, and they need to call upon principles that he helped instil in the Democratic Party. Principles such as economic fairness, equality of opportunity, high quality services and a government that helps ordinary people. The Democrats need to focus their image on being pragmatic solution-based politicians. They need to return to fighting for issues that the majority of Americans suffer with every day, such as access to healthcare or lack of opportunities. A major element of this transition and rediscovery for the Democratic party needs to take place within the leadership. The time has come for fresh faces to take over the party. The current leadership has been battling Trump for almost a decade and failing. The old guard in the Democratic party represent the decaying establishment to Americans. They represent continuity not reform and change. The party needs an injection of live, new ideas and energy that the current leadership does not possess. Figures like Governor Whitmer and Governor Shapiro need to take over the party. Young, charismatic leaders need to lead the charge for change within the Democratic Party and breathe new life into a fading giant of American politics.

Image: Wikimedia Commons/Office of U.S. House Speaker

Licence: Public Domain

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