WASHINGTON — The 2024 election sent shockwaves through American politics, marking a stunning comeback for Donald Trump and delivering a sobering verdict on the Democratic Party’s current trajectory. Despite heavily outspending her opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris suffered a resounding defeat, failing to carry a single battleground state or recreate the anti-Trump coalition of 2020.
New research from the Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) reveals the underlying problem: Democrats have lost their connection with working-class Americans, who now overwhelmingly view the party as weak, out of touch, and ideologically extreme. To regain their footing, Democrats must urgently rebrand and rebuild their coalition — or risk ceding the political map to Republicans for years to come.
New polling and focus groups conducted for PPI by Deborah Mattinson, former Director of Strategy for UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and YouGov reveal a sobering reality. Blue-collar voters now view the Democratic Party as weak, unpatriotic, incompetent, and out of touch, while seeing Republicans as stronger, more patriotic, and increasingly aligned with their concerns. Republicans hold double-digit leads across key metrics. Among working-class voters:
| % Seeing Democrats | % Seeing Republicans | Republican Lead (Points) | |
| “Strong” | 32 | 63 | 31 |
| “Patriotic” | 43 | 62 | 19 |
| “Competent” | 38 | 56 | 18 |
| “In Touch” | 34 | 52 | 18 |
| “On My Side” | 36 | 50 | 14 |
In focus groups, former Democratic voters who backed Trump this year likened the president-elect to a “neat whiskey. He’s strong and gives it to you straight,” while comparing Democrats to a “watered-down cocktail. Weak.”
“Working class voters rendered a harsh verdict on Democrats on November 6,” said Will Marshall, PPI President. “They see the party as weak, unpatriotic and out of touch with their everyday economic struggles and values. Democrats need a major course correction, because they can’t build a center-left majority without reconnecting with the working families that once were the backbone of their party. “
The polling also revealed troubling perceptions of extremism:
PPI will continue to engage with party leaders, strategists, and policymakers to advance a vision that reconnects Democrats with the working-class voters who have been the backbone of the party for generations.
The Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) is a catalyst for policy innovation and political reform based in Washington, D.C. Its mission is to create radically pragmatic ideas for moving America beyond ideological and partisan deadlock. Learn more about PPI by visiting progressivepolicy.org. Find an expert at PPI and follow us on Twitter.
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Media Contact: Ian O’Keefe – iokeefe@ppionline.org
