Dear friends,
As 2024 draws to a close, I want to thank the many friends and partners who helped PPI grow and extend its reach here and around the world throughout the year. Although last month’s presidential election was dismaying, it at least has clarified the task before us. Because of its history and unswerving dedication to radical pragmatism, PPI is uniquely poised to catalyze the center-left revival our country urgently needs. It’s a big job, and we’ll need your help and support more than ever. If you’re interested in continuing to contribute to PPI’s mission, please donate or visit our website.
PPI’s 2024 Election Review: The Way Ahead for Democrats
The 2024 Presidential election sent shockwaves through American politics, and throughout the world, marking a stunning comeback for Donald Trump and delivering a sobering verdict on the Democratic Party’s current trajectory.
While many governments are grappling with what a change of U.S. administration could mean for their countries and their relationship with the United States, Democrats are coming to terms with why they lost the election, and the way ahead for their party.
New PPI research has been undertaken which reveals the crucial underlying problem: Democrats have lost their connection with working-class Americans.
This third and final installment in a series of PPI/YouGov polling of working-class voters in battleground states, along with focus groups conducted for PPI by Deborah Mattinson, former Director of Strategy for UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, 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.
“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.”
PPI’s analysis has been informed by its work around the world to promote durable center-left governments, which is proving challenging under the continued pressure from right-leaning populism. To that end, PPI’s Project on Center-Left Renewal, led by Claire Ainsley and Will Marshall, conducted a post-election trip to Europe, making stops in Brussels, Berlin, and London. The PPI delegation discussed what went wrong for Democrats and how we can work together to rebuild and solidify the center-left coalition.
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. Only by reconnecting and providing them with a credible alternative for change, can we hope to win the next Presidential election. That work has to start now, and here at PPI we’re ready to roll up our sleeves and get to work on this mission.
