The Democratic Party leaders are in a “deep depression” and Vice President Kamala Harris knows her political career is over following Tuesday’s stunning election defeat.
This week saw them lose not just the White House, but likely control of both chambers of Congress — and their grip on the American working class.
“How do you lose a campaign this badly?” one Democratic strategist asked bluntly. “For weeks, they told us this campaign would be tight. And really, it wasn’t even close.”
The numbers tell a brutal story. President-elect Donald Trump captured one in three voters of color, improved his support among young voters by over 10 points, and dominated with Hispanic men by a 10-point margin. The Blue Wall crumbled. Every single swing state fell. Democrats won New York by a narrower margin than Trump won Florida. Deep blue New Jersey was within five points of going Republican.
Democrats have struggled to defend Harris, who had just 100 days ready her campaign after President Joe Biden’s dramatic July withdrawal.
“Do you know how hard it was to come in and quickly steer the ship in the other direction with 100 days left on the clock?” one Harris ally complained. “There was no playbook for it.”
Critics pointed to specific stumbles: A running mate in Minnesota Governor Tim Walz who “ultimately offered next to nothing,” an economic message that fell flat, and polling that completely missed Trump’s surge among Latino voters.
But the soul-searching goes deeper than campaign tactics — and America’s resounding rejection of Democrats has reportedly led to a “deep depression” among liberal activists.
“Democrats are going to need to have an honest conversation about who we think we are and what we stand for versus what the American people think we are and stand for,” said Democratic strategist Rodell Mollineau.
Senator Bernie Sanders didn’t mince words: “It should come as no great surprise that a Democratic Party which has abandoned working class people would find that the working class has abandoned them.”
Many blamed the party’s COVID-era policies and “woke” academia elitism for alienating everyday voters. Others questioned why Biden, at 81 with clear cognitive decline and approval ratings underwater at 40%, didn’t step aside sooner.
“A lot of us feel this could have been different if he decided not to run for a second term and if we had an actual primary,” one strategist said. “I know there’s a lot of f***ing ifs but we would have had a shot.”
Now Democrats look to state leaders like Govs. Josh Shapiro, Gretchen Whitmer, and Andy Beshear for revival. All won in states Trump just captured.
The challenge ahead?
As one insider put it: “In a 50-50 country, how do they articulate a theory of the case to win back voters — and power?”