Democrats may be hanging their heads at the news of Donald Trump’s election victory, but losing might end up being the best thing for the party. Kamala Harris’ campaign didn’t run in ideal circumstances, but it failed because of a multitude of issues, which Democrats need to learn from if they hope to reclaim the White House in 2028.
Why Donald Trump won the election and Kamala Harris lost
Many Democrats voted for Biden in 2020 because he was seen as the lesser of two evils. He was able to coast into the White House because many were tired of hearing about how terrible Trump was for five years. Despite the Biden campaign primarily focusing on his predecessor’s failings, it was hoped that the administration after would focus on policy, but that wasn’t the case.
Somehow, even though Trump no longer held political office, he remained the Democrats’ bogeyman. Instead of letting him fade into political irrelevance, the Biden administration continued to paint Trump as hellbent on overthrowing American democracy. As Biden became more and more unpopular, the constant scapegoating of Trump further galvanized Republicans around him. Trump won in 2016 because he crafted a narrative of “draining the swamp,” and the Biden White House only deepened that narrative for him. For every ill public felt against the Biden administration, Trump became increasingly appealing as the “cure.”
In defense of the Democrats, health concerns surrounding Biden put them in a difficult position. His debate against Trump was one of the biggest disasters in U.S. political history, and the likelihood of him beating the Republican party significantly declined.
The Democratic party had to replace him with Kamala Harris, who was unpopular in both the 2020 primaries and as vice president. There was no protocol for what to do in this situation, and there was no time to run another primary election, so they winged it the best they could. All things considered, they pulled off an efficient glow-up for the VP, but it wasn’t enough.
Harris tried using the same playbook Biden did for her election, but running a campaign around Trump’s negatives weren’t going to work this time. People had seen four years under him and four years under Biden, and they weren’t impressed with what Democrats brought to the table. Broken promises about student loan forgiveness, massive inflation, a housing crisis, and fudged employment numbers combined to make centrists and left-leaning voters wonder if Trump was really the worse of two evils.
Additionally, Harris made some bizarre decisions during her run. A prime example was that she accepted the endorsement of Dick Cheney and his daughter Liz instead of immediately distancing herself from them. Dick Cheney left the White House with a 13% approval rating, is probably best known for signing off on the use of “enhanced interrogation techniques,” and shot someone in the face while hunting. He’s political poison, as is his daughter, who was ardently pro-Trump until she fell out of his favor. This choice only proved to voters that Harris was willing to compromise her integrity to curry favor with conservative voters. However, this backfired since sentiment for the Cheneys is negative on both sides of the political aisle.
What Democrats need to learn from the 2024 election
Trump can’t be re-elected, so Republicans will have to rebuild their party identity from scratch for 2028. Democrats need to take the opportunity to do the same. They need to go back and look at what made Obama so popular while ditching the remaining hangers-on of the Obama administration.
The Change campaign was a phenomenal hit in 2009 because it focused on what the party has to offer voters. Democrats need to nurture candidates with compelling stories and build policies that draw in people from all walks of life. The Democrats paint themselves as the feel-good party, and voters should hear a narrative about how a vote for them will help them be the best they can be.
Donald Trump’s election win should be a wake-up call that you can’t win based on positive social media interaction and celebrity endorsements. If you represent the party that claims it stands on principle, including accepting people for who they are regardless of their flaws, then Dave Bautista calling Trump a “whiny little b***h” on Jimmy Kimmel Live doesn’t demonstrably improve your popularity.
The bottom line is that Democratic candidates need to realize that they’re running to represent the whole country as President of the United States, and it’s time to start acting like it. The Democratic voter base is heterogeneous and extremely easy to alienate, so it’s time to get back to basics and start campaigning on issues that are important to everyone. If it can study the loss in 2024 and learn from the mistakes made by the Harris campaign, we could get a blue sweep in 2028 if the party is open-minded enough to make the necessary changes.
