How Democrats Can Regain Momentum After the Election: Part 1

Following a disappointing election, the Democratic Party faces a familiar yet challenging task: rebuilding and re-energizing its coalition. Electoral setbacks, though disheartening, provide valuable opportunities for self-reflection and strategic recalibration. Drawing lessons from recent elections and historical precedents, I’ll be exploring how I believe Democrats might regain their footing and prepare for future success.

But first, in the spirit of full disclosure, I am not and have never been (except perhaps briefly in college) a registered Democrat. I was a Reagan Republican who progressively became disillusioned with the Republican Party beginning in the 1990s and finally in 2016 I reached the point where I switched to “no party affiliation.” While I can’t fully embrace the Democratic Party and some of its fringe elements, it more closely aligns with my beliefs than the current Republican Party.  It may seem inappropriate for a non-Democrat to offer advice to the Party, but sometimes it takes an outsider to bring clarity. 

There are several areas where I think the Democrats need to reassess and refine their programs. In subsequent posts I’ll mention ideas about a number of them. But first things first.  If you want to win at the national level you’ve got to be organized and ready at the local and state level.

There needs to be an honest assessment of what went wrong. Ignoring electoral losses or solely blaming external factors without self-reflection won’t give insight into a winning program.

After their 2012 election loss, the Republican Party conducted a comprehensive analysis, resulting in the “Growth and Opportunity Project” report. This internal review highlighted areas for improvement, including outreach to minority communities and the need for a clearer economic message.

For Democrats, a similar post-mortem analysis will prove invaluable. By examining voter data, exit polls, and demographic shifts, the party can identify why key groups, such as working-class voters or suburbanites, have turned away. Addressing these issues directly and transparently can rebuild trust and demonstrate the party’s seriousness about listening to voters’ concerns.

State and local elections are critical in shaping a national party resurgence. The Republican Party’s “Red Map” project in 2010 targeted state legislatures to influence redistricting, giving them significant advantages in subsequent elections.

Democrats should adopt a similar strategy, investing in local and state races to build a pipeline of strong candidates for future national campaigns.  By organizing at the local and state level and supporting local and state candidates, the National Party can develop a better understanding of what is necessary to develop a winning national campaign. 

A winning national platform has to come from the bottom up reflecting the desires of the average voters. It cannot be imposed from the top down. The Democratic Party has unfortunately begun to develop a reputation as a party of intellectual elites trying to force their opinion on the common people. While it may be a misconception, failure to counter that misconception with a viable local and state presence allows the Republicans to frame the narrative. That is an approach that is bound to fail.

By focusing on local and state elections, the party will have a better understanding of the “bread and butter” issues that have driven voter turnout in recent elections.  You can’t win local elections unless the local people know you and trust you and believe that you will work for them. That knowledge and trust has to be carried all the way from the local and state level to the national level.

Significantly, in 2024 the National Democratic Party failed to provide any meaningful support to state and local candidates in states they deemed to be “too red”, thus ensuring continued Republican dominance. There was a time, not that long ago, when many of these “too red” districts might have been considered “too blue”, but that didn’t stop the Republicans from doing a grassroots program designed to appeal to the concerns of the average voter.

Whether the Republicans accomplish anything for the average voter remains to be seen. But the important point is they convinced the voters that they were listening to them and cared about them. That’s a lesson that the Democrats should take to heart.

Next time, we’ll look at what else I believe can be done to rebuild support for the Democratic Party.

Key References:

NBC News: Five Democratic Assumptions Shattered by the 2024 Election.

Republican National Committee’s Growth and Opportunity Project (2013).

Pew Research Center: Voter Turnout Trends and Demographics.

New York Times: Bill Clinton’s 1992 Campaign Strategy.

The Atlantic: The Red Map Project.

The Nation: Democrats Need to Fundamentally Rethink Everything.