The Washington Examiner’s Kaylee McGhee White argued that the biggest problem the Democratic Party faces after the 2024 election is addressing its reputation, suggesting the party no longer represents the working class.
Following Vice President Kamala Harris’s loss to President-elect Donald Trump in the election, Harris is contemplating her next steps in her political career, which could include a 2026 California gubernatorial run or a 2028 presidential run. White, a Restoring America editor for the Washington Examiner, suggested the Democratic Party needs to recognize that it is now “the party of the rich, educated, and elite.”
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“It just goes to show that the Democrat’s problems with working-class Americans, it’s not just a messaging problem, Sandra,” White said on Fox News’s The Faulkner Focus, guest-hosted by Sandra Smith. “It’s not just that they’re saying the wrong things to people. It’s that they’re not speaking to the right people at all. The average working-class American does not even register anywhere near the top of the priority list for Democratic leadership.”
White also suggested Harris made a mistake taking celebrities like Oprah Winfrey and Lizzo and putting them “on a pedestal” before others, and argued that voters could not connect with these celebrities that vocalized their support for Harris.
Additionally, White addressed concerns that Democratic strategist James Carville vocalized about support for the party, contending the party was losing support among male voters and that the party must “address” this. White pointed to how Trump also improved his standing among women voters, proving that the party was “out of touch with all voters.”
Following the election, Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison announced that he won’t run for a second term in office, and Democratic operatives have suggested to the Washington Examiner that the “sheer totality” of the party’s losses could see the “non-Biden wing” of the party stand to benefit. Two veteran Democratic strategists told the Washington Examiner that they expect to see DNC chair candidates spend the coming weeks publicly signaling to voters how they mark a “fundamental shift” away from the Biden years.
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“After this election, there’s a sense that leadership and strategy — the party just outright missed the mark in connecting with voters,” one strategist stated. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right? Well, what happens when it does break? You bring people in to fix it. The party can’t help people if we aren’t winning.
Regarding Harris and her potential run for the California governor’s mansion in 2026, a UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll released prior to the presidential election showed that 33% of voters overall and 54% of Democratic voters in the Golden State said they would be very likely to consider Harris if she were to run for governor in the crowded Democratic field.