A Shambolic Performance by the Democratic Party in the United States

In three consecutive presidential elections in the United States, the Democratic Party faced one of the most polarizing candidates for the presidency in US history. Somehow, it managed to lose twice (and needed a pandemic to win the other race). The leadership of the Democratic Party bears much of the blame for this defeat, as the party has lost its way in recent years. This is due primarily to the party’s shift away from the political center and its increasing focus on identity politics and issues that are focused on singular groups within our country. As such, the Democrats bear much of the blame for another four years of Donald Trump in the White House.

The 2024 presidential election was not as close as had been expected. Much of this had to do with the fact that Vice President Kamala Harris was a flawed candidate, as evidenced by her disastrous run for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020 and her uneven performance in this year’s presidential campaign. Take the former swing state of Ohio as an example. Her performance in Ohio was particularly bad, as ishe lost that state by the largest margin since Walter Mondale in 1984. Furthermore, her poor campaign, and the overall poor campaign of the Democrats, doomed Senator Sherrod Brown to defeat in an election that he normally would have won. Now, the Democrats face a period in the political wilderness, while Ohio is becoming a new Indiana or Missouri, a state where Democrats are in a distinct minority.

In this year’s campaign, the Democrats clearly failed to control the narrative. Donald Trump’s debate skills could have cost him the election, and he struggled to maintain his focus on the campaign trail. However, the leadership of the Republican Party managed to keep the campaign’s message very focused, despite their candidate’s rambling speeches and bizarre behavior in the latter part of the campaign. In contrast, Kamala Harris’ campaign failed to take advantage of Trump’s disastrous performance in the second presidential debate. Furthermore, she failed to counter the misinformation use by the Trump campaign. Altogether, this cost her the election, and while she deserves some of the blame, her party deserves much more.

Unless the Democrats overhaul their leadership and move the party back to the political center, and back to a focus on issues that impact all Americans, they face a long period in the political wilderness. With control of most levers of power, the Republicans will now be able to enact their agenda with minimal resistance from a enfeebled Democratic opposition. Moreover, the Republicans are likely to have far more capable candidates than Donald Trump in the future. Therefore, Democrats need to find future candidates that can attract a wider range of voters than the current crop. Kamala Harris clearly was not one of these candidates, but there are others out there that have the potential to revive Democratic fortunes.

In the end, the incompetent leadership of the Democratic Party bears much of the blame for another Trump term if office. Many Democratic leaders will blame the voters, but this would be short-sighted and a failure to admit their many mistakes. For the sake of the future of democracy in the United States, the Democrats need new leaders and a new direction. More of the same will simply result in more electoral defeats and allow the Republicans to dominate US politics for years to come. Two healthy parties that are focused on the well-being of all segments of American society are what the US needs to maintain a successful democracy. The Democrats would do well to look in the mirror and admit to the mistakes that led to their defeat in this year’s elections and take steps to ensure that they learn from these mistakes.