Six months after President Donald Trump’s decisive victories in key states, the Democratic Party remains in turmoil, grappling with declining support that has been years in the making. Republican gains, notably in the 2024 presidential election, have left Democrats increasingly seen as the party of the elite.
Rob Flaherty, who managed Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign, reflected on the party’s predicament, stating, “Over a long period of time, our party overdrew our trust account with the American people.”
To address these challenges, The New York Times is launching a series examining the Democrats’ predicament: how it developed, possible solutions, and potential new leaders. Notably, “the first challenge is that it is not just Republicans and independents who have soured on the Democratic Party. It is also Democrats themselves,” The Times writes.
Many supporters are “aghast at the speed with which Mr. Trump is undermining institutions and reversing progressive accomplishments,” according to The Times. With the 2026 midterms approaching, generational and ideological divides are fueling primary challenges within the party.
Representative Jason Crow, tasked with recruiting House candidates, voiced concerns about the party’s future stating, “There is fear, there is anxiety, and there are very real questions about the path forward — all of which I share.”
“We are losing support in vast swaths of the country, in rural America, in the Midwest, the places where I’m from,” Crow said. “People that I grew up with who now support Donald Trump, who used to be Democrats. There’s no reason why we shouldn’t have the support of these folks, other than we have pushed, in so many ways, these people away from our party.”
Even the gender gap that once favored Democrats shifted in 2024, as more men reportedly moved rightward. Party leaders, activists, and donors are now debating how to reconnect with disaffected voters and are commissioning studies to better understand these communities.
Ideological debates are intensifying, particularly over issues like immigration, transgender rights, and “anti-corporate economic populism.” Structural obstacles also loom large, including a Senate map that favors Republicans and an Electoral College increasingly difficult for Democrats. Even winning back northern battlegrounds may not be enough to retake the White House after the 2030 census, The Times suggests.
Jaime Harrison, who resigned as DNC chair, stressed the need for Democrats to compete in regions where they have lost ground.
In response, Democratic strategists are meeting to devise ways to regain working-class support, including a $20 million initiative code-named SAM, short for “Speaking with American Men: A Strategic Plan.” According to The Times, the effort “aims to reverse the erosion of Democratic support among young men, especially online.” The initiative “promises investment to ‘study the syntax, language and content that gains attention and virality in these spaces.’ It recommends buying advertisements in video games, among other things.”
