Democratic Party needs to chart a citizen-centric path

Unlike 2016, when many were blindsided, this year’s election outcome was less of a surprise. The polls were tight and several analysts had forecast Trump as the likely winner. Nonetheless, the results delivered a sobering blow. Not only did Trump win the presidency, but the Republicans appear to have achieved a political trifecta — flipping the Senate and retaining their House majority based upon the congressional races decided to date. This complete control over the executive and legislative branches — combined with a conservative majority in the Supreme Court — has left many Democrats anxious about unchecked Republican power.

In the aftermath of the election, Democrats must shift their focus from despair and anxiety to assessment and then action. American politics operates in two-year cycles, with opportunities for renewal always on the horizon. The next congressional elections are less than two years away, and a majority in the US House of Representatives remains within reach, given the small margin Republicans will hold there.

However, for Democrats to win the House back, learning lessons from this loss are critical. In 2016, the party regrouped and leveraged Trump’s polarising presidency to build momentum for the 2018 midterms, securing a decisive House majority. Similarly, the party must identify the reasons for the loss of the presidential race and use them to develop a road map for revitalisation of the party nationally. An initial analysis of the available data indicates that the key areas of focus for that road map should include:

Reconnecting to the working class: Historically, the Democratic Party has been the party of the working class — those without college degrees and in lower-income jobs. In this election, the working class voted overwhelmingly for Trump. This was the case because Trump’s relentless focus on the substantial rising costs of living for individuals proved effective, overshadowing the gains of the American economy writ large.

Winning back traditional constituencies: The Democratic Party has also been the party for minorities such as Blacks, Hispanics, and people of colour. Until too late in this election cycle, these groups were taken for granted. As a result, many of those voters — especially male — decided to vote for Trump. They did so in part because of his economic message but also due to concerns related to the perceived negative impact of illegal immigrants committing crimes, taking away jobs, and harming communities.

Winning back young voters: Another factor in the Democratic defeat was the loss of support among young voters. Harris won the majority of voters under 30 — but only by six percentage points compared to Biden’s 24 points win against Trump in 2020. The reduced support among these voters can be attributed to a number of factors. Two primary ones are: Insecurity about their personal future and the future of the US as a country, and an effective social media campaign by Trump and the Republican Party reaching out to young voters.

Identifying the most relevant societal issues: In this election cycle, the Democratic Party was characterised as the party of the extreme Left and radical activists. This was possible due to policies, practices or proposals put forward by Democrats over the past several years on issues such as prioritising treatment for illegal immigrants, the homeless, and transgender individuals. This means that the Democrats must grapple with the perception of being out of touch with what issues matter most to the majority of Americans and/or where Americans stand on those issues.

Motivating the Democratic base: We discussed the importance of turnout in our previous column. The Democrats definitely had a turnout problem in this election. The New York Times reports that counties with the largest Democratic victories in 2020 cast 1.9 million more votes for Biden in 2020 than they did for Harris in 2024. By comparison, the counties with the biggest Republican victories turned out 1.2 million more votes for Trump this year than in 2020. Various polls before the elections showed the Republicans were much more enthusiastic about voting than the Democrats. Those polls proved to be true.

To sum it up, the Democratic Party has considerable work to do in order to reposition and revitalise itself as a winner in a presidential election. Due to the nature of the American elections, this can be an incremental process beginning with the US Senate and congressional races in the mid-term elections. The Senate map is not favourable for the Democrats, with structural disadvantages likely delaying any realistic chance of reclaiming a majority until 2028. The House, on the other hand, presents a more immediate opportunity. A shift of just a few percentage points in key districts could flip control back to the Democrats in 2026.

While the election results were a clear Republican victory, the margins underscore how competitive the race truly was. For only the second time since 1992, a Republican candidate won the popular vote. Yet, the overall popular vote margin was just 1.4%, and fewer than 245,000 votes across Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin could have swung the presidency to Harris. That sliver of difference — 0.157% of the total 156.1 million votes cast — highlights how competitive the race was.

In conclusion, the Democratic Party has been knocked down but it has not been knocked out. If the party charts a citizen-centric path forward based upon listening and responding to the needs of the people it will get back up and be positioned for success in 2026 and 2028.

Frank F Islam is an entrepreneur, civic leader, and thought leader based in Washington DC. The views expressed are personal