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Anger and soul-searching took hold of the Democratic Party early on Wednesday morning, after Vice President Kamala Harris suffered an election loss that left some party officials and voters dumbfounded.
Harris was the self-styled underdog against her Republican rival, Donald Trump, having joined the race barely three months ago, but the nature of her loss has some Democrats asking questions about the future of the party.
The sharpest criticism contained accusations that the party had lied to its supporters about President Joe Biden’s mental fitness until a disastrous TV debate with Trump in June raised alarm bells and ultimately led to the president exiting the race.
One Democratic donor asked: “Why did Joe Biden hold on for as long as he did? He should have not concealed his (health) and dropped out a lot sooner.”
Biden, 81, has said privately he thought he was the only Democrat who could beat Trump, and vowed publicly that he was fit to be president for another four years. When he dropped out of the race in July, he said he had decided it was “in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down.”
Biden’s announcement in April 2023 that he would run for reelection was greeted with scepticism by many Democrats, but likely potential challengers quickly agreed to join his campaign as advisers, rather than challenge him.
The party “needs a complete reboot,” said hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, a longtime Democratic donor who endorsed Trump in 2024, on X. “The party lied to the American people about the cognitive health and fitness of the president,” he said, and then didn’t hold a primary to replace him.
The Harris campaign declined comment and the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
‘Women and young voters’
The concerns ran deeper, though.
Two groups Harris was counting on to beat Trump — increasingly diverse young voters, believed to be motivated by climate change, liberal values and her social media savvy, and women worried about shrinking abortion rights under a Republican — moved in his direction instead.
Trump’s overall share of voters under 45 was up two percentage points from 2020 as was his share of women voters, Edison Research exit poll data show. Trump also increased his support in many suburban areas, where Democrats thought they had made inroads.
The shift came even as the Harris campaign insisted that the race was close, and that she was picking up new voters.
One Democratic National Committee official said he was fielding angry text messages from party members late on Tuesday night. “They feel lied to by the campaign,” the official said.
Trump’s anti-immigration rhetoric also appeared to strike a chord with voters even in Democratic heartlands like Connecticut and Massachusetts, mirroring a trend seen in many liberal democracies where high housing and other costs have been blamed on newcomers.
Canada’s Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, for example, cut immigration levels under criticism from the right, and Europe’s far-right parties have vowed to toughen immigration rules, while peeling away votes from the center left.
Harris’ defeat is the Democrats’ second bitter loss to Trump over the past three elections. Hillary Clinton’s 2016 defeat had paved the way for Biden to run.
A convicted felon, Trump’s unorthodox economic proposals, including blanket tariffs on imports, will be costly for US consumers and businesses, economists say. His plans to deport millions of people who are in the country illegally would upend industries and communities.
Still Trump gained with Latino voters, and had easy wins in Georgia and North Carolina, states where Democrats thought they were competitive. Harris’ whirlwind campaign, built around an inclusive vision of the United States and stronger fiscal support for families, had emphasised hope and positivity.
Harris remained at her residence in Washington the entire evening while crowds waited outside her alma mater Howard University, where the campaign had set up a stage and a media center, anticipating days of vote-counting before a result.
As the results started to trickle in, her campaign co-chair Cedric Richmond took the stage to tell the dwindling crowds the race wasn’t over yet. Hours later, it was.
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