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How Kamala Harris lost working class and White House

The Democratic Party’s alignment with coastal elites, embrace of liberal cultural positions and failure to address the economic anxieties of ordinary Americans have led to its downfall

Donald Trump’s comprehensive victory in the US presidential elections and the Republican Party’s commanding performance in the Senate and House races have exposed a major rift in American politics. While many factors contributed to the Democratic Party’s downfall, the abiding theme behind the loss is the growing disconnect between the party’s evolving identity and the concerns of its traditional working-class base. The Democrats' increasing alignment with progressive, coastal elites, their embrace of liberal cultural positions and their failure to address the economic anxieties of ordinary Americans have all played a role in Harris’s loss.

Historically, the Democratic Party has been the champion of labour unions, workers' rights and economic fairness. But over the past few years, it has increasingly become associated with urban elites, who prioritise progressive social causes over the economic concerns that once defined the party’s platform. This shift away from economic populism became particularly pronounced under president Barack Obama, and was further exacerbated by the rise of Trumpism.

Donald Trump capitalised on this shift, appealing directly to blue-collar voters who felt abandoned by the Democratic Party. His populist rhetoric, promising to “bring back” manufacturing jobs and rejecting free trade agreements like NAFTA, resonated strongly with working-class Americans, particularly in battleground states such as Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Trump's message of economic nationalism, coupled with his “America First” agenda, struck a chord with voters concerned about job loss, wage stagnation and the decline of traditional industries.

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Even after Trump lost the 2020 election, his ability to maintain a loyal working-class base, particularly in rural and industrial areas, was undeniable. Meanwhile, Democrats struggled to address the issues that mattered most to these voters. The party’s embrace of free trade, stringent environmental protection policies and an increasingly progressive social agenda alienated many in working-class communities.

Harris, despite being a historic figure as the first female vice president, the first woman of colour and first Indian American in that role, struggled to connect with a key segment of the electorate: swing voters and the working class. Harris's political career was rooted in deep-blue California, where she built her base among the left, liberal elite. While this background facilitated her rise within the party, it left her inadequately equipped to engage swing state voters.

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Harris campaign’s focus on issues such as abortion rights, gender equality and climate change, while important, failed to resonate with voters struggling with more immediate concerns like job security, rising living costs, illegal immigration and crime. Moreover, Harris’s background as a prosecutor and her past positions on issues like fracking and gender-affirming care for transgender inmates were used effectively by Trump to portray her as out of touch with mainstream Americans. One of the most successful Trump ads in the election depicted Harris as favouring taxpayer-funded gender assigning surgeries for prisoners, a position that alienated many moderate and working-class voters, especially women. Despite attempts to reframe her image with more centrist messages, such as her stance on gun rights, Harris's efforts often came across as insincere or contradictory. This created an opening for Trump to frame the Democratic Party as too extreme and disconnected from the concerns of average voters.

Another factor contributing to Harris's defeat was the growing influence of what some have called "wokeness" within the Democratic Party. As the party embraced progressive values, it became increasingly associated with a world view that many Americans, particularly in rural and working-class areas, found alienating. Terms like “Latinx”, “BIPOC”, and the rise of "cancel culture" signalled a party more attuned to the concerns of affluent urbanites.

The focus on identity politics and a language of hyper-political correctness caused many voters to feel that the Democratic Party was no longer speaking to them or on their behalf. For instance, Rahm Emanuel, a Chicago Democrat and former Obama administration official, argued that the Democratic leadership was increasingly intimidated by the “woke police” and failed to recognise the anger of many Americans who were tired of being lectured about sensitivity and political correctness.

Trump, in contrast, was able to tap into this frustration by positioning himself as an anti-establishment figure who rejected the elitist values. His rallies, where he spoke plainly and often humorously about issues that resonated with ordinary Americans, were in stark contrast to the often stilted, overly scripted messages from Harris. Trump's appeal to voters who felt ridiculed or ignored by the political class was a key reason for his success.

In the aftermath of Harris's defeat, Democrats are grappling with a serious identity crisis. Some argue that the party failed to cater to the left enough, while others believe it must pivot to the centre to survive. Congressman Seth Moulton of Massachusetts has called for a rebranding, urging the party to focus more on economic populism rather than cultural issues. Others, like Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, a Democrat who narrowly won a seat in a red district, argue that the party must engage with ordinary voters, particularly parents and people in the trades, and take their concerns seriously.

Julie Roginsky, a Democratic strategist, criticised the party’s inability to communicate with “normal Americans,” pointing out how terms like “Latinx” alienate Latino voters, who find such terminology out of touch with their cultural realities. Many of these voters, she argued, are more concerned with issues like crime, job opportunities and the cost of living than with the progressive social agendas pushed by the Democratic elite.

Democrats must reconcile their progressive agenda with the economic realities of everyday Americans. To regain the trust of the working class, they must balance the identity politics that has come to dominate the party and give due importance to economic issues—job creation, wage growth and health care—issues that once made them the party of the working class. If the Democrats fail to reconnect with the voters they have lost, particularly in swing states and rural areas, they risk becoming a party of coastal elites, out of touch with the rest of the country, and out of power for a long time.