One of the reasons Democrats like Vice President Kamala Harris did not fare as well in the 2024 elections, especially confounding given the poor, treasonous, and criminal track record of Mr. Trump both during and after his first term, was their apparent inability to connect with largely disengaged voters who felt, despite the data, the Democrats were not on their side.
Voters in this group, because many of them work many hours a week, did not have the time to hear the many instances President Biden say he recognized times were hard for some people, that the programs he helped pass like the Infrastructure, CHIPS, and Inflation Reduction Laws would eventually benefit them, and he was working on other solutions to lift them up.
They also did not hear Vice President Harris’s proposals including an affordability agenda for first time homebuyers and families.
They did however, listen to and, despite the first term performance of the Liar in Chief Trump, believe his misinformation about hordes of criminal illegal immigrants in the streets, his claims that Democrats cared about transgenders more than everyone else, and his false promises about bringing prices down and end the war in Ukraine on Day One.
Unfortunately, this is a trend that has existed for decades with voters, again despite the track record, believing the Republicans, despite actual GDP and jobs data, are better on the economy, law and order (even with a convicted felon and traitor as their leader,) and, despite actual deportation numbers and proposals to solve the issue, immigration.
Getting the truth and right message through so that it registers with all voters, well informed or otherwise, is the paramount challenge Democrats face going into the 2025, 2026, and 2028 elections.
A good sign is that Democrats are faring well in special elections so far this year as discontent with Mr. Trump’s policies and actions are reaching fever pitch.
That said, Democrats still need to break through the layers of Trump and MAGA mis and disinformation to pull voters that should support them back into the fold.
Over the last several weeks, New York Representative Tom Suozzi and Arizona Senator Ruben Gallego both issued similar advise to Democrats on improving their messaging game, recommending that they promote the aspirational and their commitment to helping people thrive in the Middle Class and beyond, achieving the American Dream.
They also emphasized the need for Democrats to convey a strong message on border security and immigration reform.
Shortly after writing an article on this subject for the Wall Street Journal following the Primary Victory of Zohran Mamdani, Representative Suozzi appeared on Morning Joe and conveyed that Democratic leaning voters feel the party does not hear them when it comes to their economic anxiety.
Speaking on what voters feel, Suozzi said:
“If you ask the American people, what are the issues you care about the most? They’ll say number one, the economy, number two, immigration number three taxes, number four crime, and number five health care. If you ask those same people, What’s the Democrats agenda, they’ll say choice, LGBTQ protections, health care a little bit across over there, protecting Democracy and climate change. Those are all important issues, but that’s not what everybody’s talking about every night when they’re talking about how am I going to pay my bills? How am I going to address the economic problems facing my family. So, we need to do a better job as Democrats talking about these kitchen table issues. These bread and butter issues about the economy. What are we going to do to raise the minimum wage? What are we going to do to build unions? What are we going to do to reassure Industries in America that are going to provide jobs that people who are whether you’re a right-wing conservator or a left-wing progressive? Everybody in America should believe that if I’m willing to work hard. In return for working hard, I make enough money so I can buy a house, educate my kids, pay for health insurance, and retire one day without being scared. That used to be the American Dream. That’s what slipped away from us. We have to propose solutions as to how we’re going to get back to that place. Hard work gets rewarded with a decent life that’s America, and we have to get back to that basic, simple, fundamental message. “
Senator Gallego, the person that comfortably beat Trump’s handpicked candidate Kari Lake by eight points while Harris lost Arizona to Trump, conveyed a similar message to Democrats in an interview with Dan Koh on The People’s Cabinet.
On some Democrats tone deafness to voters concerns, Gallego said:
“Democrats need to understand that we can’t be out of the norm of where the normal voter is right, and what does that mean. Like it means a lot of things, but the most important thing is listen to what the fuck… listen to what’s going on, listen to the voters, and there’s some things you’re going to hear that that would have given you a clue what was happening…Arizona is a very swing state and what we heard were voters that were unhappy about the cost of living and the border, and they were consistently saying it over and over again. And I think a lot of politicians trying to be pollyannish about what they were hearing, instead of actually hearing it and trying to convince them, like, ‘Oh yeah, no, I’m good on this stuff. I’m going to fix it, or like, hey, you’re right, we messed up. Here’s how we’re gonna fix it.’ You know, at the end of the day, voters get to vote. And if you don’t give them, at least some enough of what they want, they’re going to go look for something else.”
Recognizing that the Democrats and the Biden/Harris Administration passed “good bills” that helped the people, the problem, according to Gallego was the benefits of that legislation had not “reached” them yet, they were not “feeling” it, and the Democrats did not, despite Biden and Harris clearly saying it for those that paid attention, adequately connect with voters who do not have time to watch CNN and read the papers and say ‘We know how you feel, this is what we have done to help so far, and this is what we still want to do for you if you trust us with your vote again.’
On the voters that went for both him and Trump, Gallego conveyed that his campaign took a two tiered approach. One aspect of his campaign was tailored to reaching out to the informed voter while another strategy emphasized connecting with what the Junior Arizona Senator called the “Vibe” voter, commenting:
“The Gallego- Trump voter is, you know, largely apolitical, They don’t watch TV shows. They don’t read the news. They don’t actually follow politics, and we designed an early campaign for that voter, not thinking they were Gallego-Trump voters but we knew that they were these people that were worried about the economy. Worried about the border, but they’re not doing research. They’re not going to Google my name and vote on it. They’re going to be largely listening to other people or just in general the vibes of what the hell is going on in the campaign or the election season. So we tried to essentially run a campaign that was obviously going to the educated voter and also the same time a campaign that that can break through into the kind of the the people that just vote on pure vibes.”
Senator Gallego also asserted that Democrats need to do better with reaching out to men in all demographics and age groups in promoting programs that help them achieve higher education and good paying jobs.
He tied those remarks to, like Suozzi, the party’s need to be “aspirational” and get back more forcefully to promoting policies and themes designed to foster an expanded middle class and upward mobility to higher wealth and security.
In Gallego’s words:
“Most Americans want to get rich whether it’s men or women. We don’t really talk to people’s aspirations anymore. Especially for me, the son of immigrants. This is why my family came in this country so they can be successful and be rich. I was trying to talk to my colleagues about this. They’re, like, ‘so we shouldn’t attack Elon Musk.’ Like, no. Here’s how this works. People want to be rich, but they want it to be fair. If Elon Musk is kind of screwing the system up, they’re not going to give them forgiveness because he’s rich, right? But like, we have to be the party that is going to say, like, yeah, you may be starting at the bottom rung of life, but you know, we’re gonna make sure that you have the opportunity to succeed to be rich to buy a house. We really can’t be ashamed of of being the party of upward mobility because we have been forever. This is why we have we emphasize public schools like doing a lot of programs in public programs to help people out of poverty, but we never say what the reason is right. The reason is because we want you to have a chance to be wealthy. To be secure it. It went from that to we’re the party of equity, which is great, but what’s the goal of equity. What’s the overall outcome of that, right? So, why do I want to provide food stamps? Well, of course. I want people to be to not go hungry. It’s also because I want you to have a chance to fucking study, not worry about, foods and you take care of your children. It’s all these things that we just aren’t kind of like connecting the last node to.”
It should be noted that Senator Gallego is taking his message across the country including an early August trip to Iowa.
Commenting on the importance and urgent relevance of the Suozzi and Gallego messages, Kate deGruyter, Senior Communications Director at Third Way, offered:
“The central challenge of the Trump era is not to turn blue seats bluer, but to turn red and purple seats blue. That makes Senator Gallego and Congressman Suozzi smart voices for Democrats to listen to on how to reconnect with voters we lost and rebuild a party that can compete everywhere. Democrats must recognize that for most voters in the middle, their top frustration and priority was prices that felt out of control and a border that felt out of control. Leaders who were willing to push back on DC-based groups minimizing those concerns and speak plainly about standing for order and opportunity were rewarded. And Democrats must focus their fights on the Trump Administration’s actions that are driving up costs and jeopardizing the safety and security of Americans, their families, and communities.
Building back trust is possible, and the model for Democrats is in a new generation of tough moderates who know how to flip seats and win in the red and purple places that make majorities.”
Democrats have the policies and message to win back the voters they lost in the last election. Voters need to remember that the Democrats are the party of an expanded middle class, upward mobility quality health care for all, superior public education for all, a living wage, free community college, paid apprenticeships, good paying blue and green collar jobs, affordable housing and rent, expanded earned income and child tax credits, real and legal border security and comprehensive immigration reform without masked secret police and concentration camps, and a commitment to law and order that does not reward felons by electing them President of the United States.
They have to do a better job of reaching out and connecting with voters who are not readily engaged and well informed.
They also have to do a better job of convincing these voters that, yes, they are on their side.
Representative Suozzi and Senator Gallego have good ideas on how to get that message across.
Democrats would be wise to consider them.
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You’ve pointed out the political consultants’ messaging that Sen. Gallego thinks will carry him further in his political career, but that is the same model we’ve been using ever since Bill Clinton’s era. It does not excite anyone, especially young people. They have higher aspirations than getting rich. They want their lives to have meaning beyond the material. It is what makes Democrats different from Republicans. People are looking for candidates such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Zohran Mamdani whose ideas push well beyond material well-being. Sen. Gallego is only a part of the messaging game. That cannot be all we have to offer.
Senator Gallego needs to stop listening to the DC based consultants if he wants a political future. Time & time again they fall back on their old centrist formulas which are out of touch with the electorate. Even when their candidates win in a blue wave they don’t seem to last beyond the next cycle or two.
Instead Senator Gallego should be listening to his constituents and do what’s right for them.