WASHINGTON — With their spirits low, Democrats are engaging in some serious self-reflection after President-elect Donald Trump’s significant victory revealed a decline in support from the working class – a situation that could lead to long-term challenges for the party.

Traditionally viewed as champions of the working class, Democrats have instead solidified their backing from economically stable college graduates this election, while more blue-collar voters are turning to Trump and the Republicans.

What’s particularly worrying for Democrats is that the shift away from their party included not only white working-class voters, but also helped Trump gain traction among Latino and Black men.

According to exit polls, voters with college degrees favored Democratic nominee Kamala Harris by a margin of 55%-42% this election, while Trump secured 56% of the non-college-educated vote, representing more than half of the total electorate. In the previous election, Trump had 50% support among non-college graduates compared to President Joe Biden’s 48%.

Furthermore, Trump claimed 50% of votes from those earning less than $100,000, a major turnaround from Biden’s 56%-43% lead among this demographic in 2020. Conversely, Harris received 51% of the high-income vote (earning $100,000 or more) compared to Trump’s 46%, while Trump had also led this affluent group by 54%-42% in the last election.

This shift marks a difficult truth for Democrats to confront: as working-class voters depart from their party over time, their support base is becoming increasingly upper-class, urban or suburban, and coastal. Such a narrow coalition could spell trouble moving forward.

“This needs to be the top priority for every Democrat in Congress and nationwide for the next few years,” expressed U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., in an interview. “This election revealed significant failures in the campaign. We must focus on understanding the economic challenges faced by working-class families and ensure they feel their frustrations are acknowledged in the system.”

The shift of working-class support away from the Democratic Party was a key factor in the Republican Party achieving its first popular vote win in two decades. Trump improved upon his 2020 results in 49 states, and a New York Times analysis indicated he increased his margin in at least 2,367 counties while only losing ground in 240 counties.

“We should dedicate six months to simply listening to communities,” Khanna suggested, referencing his upbringing in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, which narrowly went for Trump in this election. “It’s important to respect voters and truly understand their concerns.”

Throughout the past three years, the Biden administration has aimed economic policy at blue-collar union workers by making notable investments in green energy and microchip manufacturing, as well as supporting tax relief for families with young kids. Biden has stood in unity with striking autoworkers, while both he and Harris promoted higher taxes on the wealthy and businesses, alongside initiatives to reduce prescription drug costs for the middle class.

Yet, the comprehensive economic plan championed by Biden and Harris, which includes long-term projects, did not resonate with working-class citizens who are more focused on immediate issues like inflation and high living costs.

“Democrats face a fundamental issue with their economic image, and no amount of popular proposals or clever messaging can fix it,” stated Celinda Lake, a Democratic pollster. “We need to reassess how we convey our economic narrative to show that we genuinely understand people’s lives and can provide real support for working-class individuals.”

Lake mentioned that around 60% of voters feel Democrats lack a clear economic plan, while those who do see a plan believe it mainly benefits college-educated individuals. She pointed to Biden’s student loan forgiveness efforts as an example, stating that Trump’s brand of conservative populism—characterized by tax cuts and “America first” policies—offers greater clarity to Americans.

increased tariffs, coupled with reduced federal oversight.

Lake remarked, “Trump won against us by leveraging populist economic strategies,” pointing out that the challenges Democrats face with working-class voters have developed over several years. “This isn’t merely about a single defeat. It’s a trend that has been growing, and I believe it’s time to take action to develop an economic vision that appeals to working individuals.”

Harris dedicated significant portions of her campaign to cautioning about the potential hazards of another Trump presidency. She described him as becoming “more unstable and erratic,” driven by desires for vengeance and authority. Harris echoed Biden’s sentiments before he exited the race earlier in July, labeling Trump as a danger to American democratic values, banking on the lingering memories of the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the Capitol to influence voters.

However, this message primarily resonated with college-educated individuals and “never Trump” Republicans who were already in favor of the Democratic candidate. The topic of reinstating abortion rights, a key focus for Harris, was overshadowed by many voters who were more worried about their grocery bills.

David Axelrod, a veteran adviser to President Barack Obama, compared Democrats’ approach to “missionaries” when engaging with non-college-educated voters, suggesting a messaging of “we’re here to guide you to be more like us.”

He expressed in a CNN interview, “There’s an implicit feeling of disdain that seems to be picked up.” He added, “If you’re discussing democracy at the dinner table, you probably aren’t stressing about whether you have enough to eat or the prices of food.”

It’s not that Harris overlooked the blue-collar demographic in her policies—quite the opposite. Throughout her campaign, she advocated for making housing affordable for new homeowners, providing capital for aspiring small business owners, and expanding child tax credits. She branded it as an “opportunity economy” designed for all Americans, irrespective of their financial backdrop.

Despite labeling her focus on curbing consumer expenses as a primary concern, Harris remained linked to the unpopularity of President Biden, who voters primarily blamed for inflation levels, despite a noticeable decline from the previous year, as well as challenges at the southern border.

Instead of consistently attacking the wealthy elite, Harris chose a “pragmatic” stance toward economic issues. “I’m a capitalist,” she conveyed to the public to attract independent and moderate Republican support.

The Atlantic mentions that, according to an unnamed aide to Biden, Harris shifted away from a more assertive populist economic narrative at the suggestion of her brother-in-law Tony West, who is the chief legal officer of Uber and played a key role in her campaign. West argued this change was necessary to gain favor from the business sector, as reported by The Atlantic. By the conclusion of the campaign, one of Harris’ leading supporters was billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban.

U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., commented, “It’s not surprising that a Democratic Party that has turned its back on working-class citizens would see those citizens turn away from them.” He highlighted that it began with the white working class and has now extended to Latino and Black workers as well. He noted, “While the party leadership clings to the status quo, the American populace is frustrated and demanding change. And they’re justified in that demand.”

Many progressive Democrats embraced Sanders’ strong critique, yet some establishment figures in the party countered that Harris and Biden supported numerous policies that Sanders has advocated.

Democratic National Committee chairman Jaime Harrison refuted Sanders’ claims in a post on X, asserting that Biden is “the most pro-worker president in my lifetime” who has rescued union pensions, generated millions of jobs, and even participated in picket line demonstrations.

He maintained that Harris’ diverse economic initiatives could have profoundly improved living standards and reduced the racial wealth divide for working Americans across the nation.

“There’s a lot of analysis after the election, and this is not a sound one,” Harrison stated in disagreement with Sanders’ evaluation.

While Democrats debate over economic messaging, others attribute the party’s struggles to its left wing, which has become entangled in contentious cultural issues like transgender rights and campus unrest related to protests over the Gaza conflict. Although Harris didn’t emphasize these topics in her campaign, Republicans seized upon them as points of attack.

U.S. Representative Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., commented in an MSNBC interview, “Republicans excel at exploiting the extreme left’s rhetoric against the Democratic Party, and the losses among communities of color, especially Latinos, are absolutely disastrous for the party.”

Undoubtedly, the most impactful strategy from Trump’s campaign was in the advertising campaign for the 2024 election, one ad aimed directly at male viewers during football broadcasts explicitly targeted anti-trans sentiments. It featured Black radio host Charlamagne tha God, who criticized Kamala Harris for supporting taxpayer-funded gender-affirming surgeries in prisons, proclaiming, “Kamala is for they/them. President Trump is for you.”

Democratic strategist Julie Roginsky addressed this issue in a column on her Substack, calling the prevalence of anti-transgender ads in this election cycle a “shameful exploitation of a vulnerable group.” She also noted that average citizens in places like Saginaw, Michigan feel it’s unjust that their daughters must compete against individuals who may have physical advantages.

Roginsky pointed out the lack of Democratic responses to pro-Palestinian protests this year, which caused significant disruptions at several colleges and universities.

“Democrats are losing the image of being the common-sense party. In our efforts to avoid offending anyone, we appear out of touch with the views of everyday people,” Roginsky commented.

Torres highlighted results from Starr County, Texas, a predominantly Latino area that swung to Trump, granting him 58% of the votes and ending a 132-year streak of support for Democrats. He also mentioned how Trump came close to winning traditionally Democratic New Jersey, losing by just 6 percentage points, and significantly improving in New York, where he lost by 12 points compared to a 24-point deficit in 2020.

“If those results aren’t a wake-up call, I don’t know what is. Ignoring such signals could be detrimental for us,” Torres remarked. “We must confront and analyze the election outcomes seriously.”