Lonnie Golden, an economics professor at Penn State, called it “the million-dollar question.”
How did Democrats lose the presidency, the House and the Senate in a race where pollsters were neck and neck with Vice President Kamala Harris and at times leading with President-elect Donald Trump? And what can the party do better next time to win back core parts of its base – working-class voters, union workers and voters of color?
Across Pennsylvania, Democratic strategists have pointed to a perfect storm of economic challenges, Trump’s appeal to voters in the battleground state and Harris’ identity as a woman of color as reasons for her election defeat.
But in addition to strategists, elected officials and their staffers, The Inquirer also spoke to people less tied to the party’s losing electoral strategy — ordinary voters, labor organizers, academics — about why Democrats failed and what they can do better moving forward.
Some said Harris simply needed more time. Others said the solution was to listen to voters. Many of the answers are contradictory, but all of them provide insight into the situation of the party struggling with the up-to-date reality.
Responses have been edited and condensed for clarity.
Democrats needed a longer campaign…
“Had [Harris] had more time to campaign, I think she could have had a much better chance.”
-Stephen Waters, 30, West Philadelphia, Harris voter
… and greater reach to voters from outside the cities
“Voting is personal and people want to feel connected to the presidential candidate they are voting for, and three months is not enough time for her to connect with the people of Pennsylvania, and we all have some responsibility there. … I think a lot of the messaging we see is focused on cities, and given the population changes in Pennsylvania, you can’t just talk to Philadelphia and Pittsburgh and be in a good position to win a commonwealth as big as this one.”
-Josh Maxwell, chairman of the Chester County Board of Commissioners.
Greater engagement depends on voters, not candidates
“We have to be a group that can say, ‘Hey, I want to do something positive. I want to help my candidate win. They can sit on that couch and talk about it, but they have to deal with it. They have to come here and fight because now we are fighting for our lives whether they know it or not. We are the ones who will suffer.
“Like I told them: if you don’t get up from this table and vote, you’re giving your opponent your vote.”
– Frances White, 68, bus driver for the Philadelphia school district and political organizer for 32BJ SEIU
More “listening to everyday people”
“What could the party do better? Make sure that we listen to ordinary people, the needs only of our neighbors, not necessarily those who are most sensitive to events in the political sphere. Take some time to step outside of our normal friend circles or political circles where we talk about, you know, “Oh, have you seen this poll?” Or, “Did you see that speech?” … Just talk to non-political people, see what they mean and offer an answer or solution.”
-Hans van Mol, 35, president of the Young Democrats of Pennsylvania; Member, Chester County Democratic Committee; Director of the District Marshal’s Office Joanna McClinton
It’s economics, stupid
“When voters said, ‘We can’t afford eggs,’ the answer was, ‘But the economy is good., and democracy. It is this deafness that makes people feel unheard and invaluable.
-Alison Dagnes, professor of political science at the University of Shippensburg
Trust, not economic talk, ‘is a necessary ingredient’
“By going out there and saying we’re going to talk more about the economy and families’ pockets and wallets, I’m not saying don’t do it, but I will say that right now a lot of people have still won, I don’t believe you. I think we should never underestimate how disgusted people are with politics… We need to build a new coalition, but we can’t do it if we don’t have trust. Trust is an essential ingredient of a coalition.”
-New Jersey Senator-elect Andy Kim
Less talk about “identity politics”, more talk about “putting money back into people’s pockets”
“I think there was too much focus on identity politics and not enough… on breakfast issues. “When I’ve gone out and talked to over 8,000 people in the last six months, I talk about how you can’t reverse inflation, but you can put money back into people’s pockets in certain ways like the child care tax credit.”
-Democratic State Representative Brian Munroe, a Democrat from Bucks County
“Be with us outdoors”
“[Politicians] there should be more around. They should be among us and just show their faces. Be with us outside.”
– Cassius James, 38, mural artist, South Philadelphia
Improve communication regarding LGBTQ issues
“I really think that people with higher education like me – professors and academics – need to do a better job of talking to people about the terminology we use and what the message looks like…
I think it can create a sense of alienation and be perceived in some way as frivolous and indulgent, not directly related to their lives.
-Heath Fogg Davis, professor and director of the intellectual heritage program at Temple University
Democratic Party needs ‘full psychological analysis’
“I think as Democrats we have to take some of the blame for not being strategic in the way we ran the program. We had all kinds [nonprofits] trying to disrupt the vote. I don’t know how it happened that we knocked on the relations door, so it couldn’t have happened just before the elections. To really have a trusted messaging model to reach people, you have to work with communities… And I don’t think we’re using that model.
“I think it would behoove the Democratic Party at the national level to do a whole psychological analysis of what happened and what tools should be used in the future. You can’t keep doing the same thing and expecting different results.”
-Nina Ahmad, at-large member of the Philadelphia Democratic Council
Tap trusted non-transactional messengers to reach black men
“When you come to the conclusion that neither party is spending real resources on Black men in a non-transactional way, given all the things that Black men suffer from – i.e. we have the shortest lifespans and the worst health care outcomes; we are the only demographic group that can be born wealthy or middle class and that can experience poverty in their lives; we die at the hands of cops more than anyone else in this country, and I can relate to all of the social indicators – if you have all of these issues and you think black men are apolitical or there is a certain level of apathy, then I think you should be missing out on what black men men tell political actors.
“The data tells us that if people were trusted messengers and tried to break down the barriers keeping Black men from the polls, the economic barriers, in a way that was truly non-transactional, then we would be more likely to see an increase in Black men’s participation.”
-Mondale Robinson, 45, Black Male Vote Project
“Honestly, I don’t know what else they could have said.”
“I don’t necessarily agree with Bernie Sanders that they should have focused solely on issues related to hourly wage workers, because I think they were already doing that, but they linked it to middle-class issues: the cost of day care, the cost of college, loans for this purpose and lowering interest rates.
Honestly, I don’t know what else they could say or do other than better marketing.
–Lonnie Golden, labor economist and professor at Penn State
Better fight negative ads
“Honestly, I was a bit disappointed with the campaign itself. I didn’t think the Harris campaign responded in a timely manner to many issues.
I’ll give you an example: They want to use our trucks for [lawn] signs to be delivered statewide. And I said, “Sure, we’ll be happy to do that.” And they didn’t call until about four days before the election. I said, “It’s a little late to put up lawn signs.”
And I was disappointed with some of their messages. I thought they were pretty attacked on TV and didn’t respond appropriately.
I don’t think they had a very good plan to respond to some of the negative advertising. And all the Trump campaign ran was negative advertising. There was nothing positive. I think it has had a profound impact on our people.
-Bill Hamilton, Eastern Region Vice President of Off-Road Vehicle Drivers and Local 107 Business Agent
Democrats need a better message about the work they are already doing
Democrats need to find ways to benefit people materially, communicate how they do it, and let people feel it… It’s very much about emotion. Democrats must become better at not only trying to improve people’s lives, but also at trying to improve people’s lives [at] messages that communicate how a policy has a direct impact on people’s lives, so people can relate more to those messages.”
–Timothy Welbeck, professor and director of the Center on Anti-Racism at Temple University
