many Democrats hid from Sunday shows<\/a> in the aftermath of the election last Sunday, Democrats \u2014 especially from Trump-won states \u2014 came on to offer their critiques of President-elect Donald Trump\u2019s Cabinet picks so far \u2014 and offered insight into the Democratic soul-searching.<\/p>\n\u201cAny party \u2014 and I can only represent the Democratic Party \u2014 needs to focus on the things that keep people up at night. That’s their pocketbooks and their kids,\u201d Sen.-elect Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) said in an interview with MSNBC. \u201cThere are a lot of issues out there. But you’ve got to start with what keeps people awake, and that is kitchen-table issues, economics.\u201d<\/p>\n
Like Slotkin, Ruben Gallego is a member of the House who won a promotion to the Senate on Election Day \u2014 even though Trump carried Arizona at the top of the ticket. He agreed that, broadly, Democrats did not connect with Americans on the issues that mattered to them, especially on the economy.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can have all the graphs you want,\u201d Gallego said on CNN\u2019s \u201cState of the Union.\u201d \u201cIf you open up your checking account, and you see that you’re making less, and there’s not enough coming in, it doesn’t matter what the GDP growth is.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gallego also noted that Arizona had more registered Republicans than Democrats and said he knew voters from both parties were struggling economically \u2014 and could relate to them as someone who grew up poor.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople were hurting. When I say people were hurting, people were \u2014 really felt the pain of the economy,\u201d Gallego said. \u201cWe explained to people that what is happening right now is bad. And also by the way, it’s not your fault. But we’re going to work to fix it. And I think that’s the thing that we did for 23 months that made the biggest difference.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even Sen.-elect Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), another current House colleague but from solidly-blue California, saw a similar messaging issue among Democrats..<\/p>\n
\u201cFrankly, I think one of the reasons I was successful in California is I was out there talking about the economy,\u201d Schiff said in an interview with CNN\u2019s \u201cState of the Union.\u201d \u201cWe need to make that case all over rural America that we understand what people are facing, that we respect them, that we’re going to deliver for them. I think that’s been missing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pennsylvania was one battleground state that saw Republican gains down the ballot, with a Senate flip and two seats in the House. Democratic Sen. John Fetterman, who flipped a Republican-held Senate seat in 2022, also pointed to \u201cunique\u201d factors this cycle that made Trump the \u201cstrongest that he\u2019s been in three cycles\u201d \u2014 such as the assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, and Elon Musk\u2019s increased presence in the state.<\/p>\n
Even House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.) acknowledged that Democratic losses among the working class is \u201can incredibly important part of our analysis\u201d as the party moves forward. He reiterated that Democrats must \u201cput working families over the well-connected.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPoorly negotiated trade deals, the outsourcing of good-paying American jobs, the decline of unionization, and of course the rise of automation have all jammed up people in the heartland of America, the Great Lakes states, and working families all across the country,\u201d Jeffries said in an interview on NBC\u2019s \u201cMeet the Press.\u201d \u201cAnd it’s going to fall on Democrats, Republicans and independents to do something about it decisively. To me, that’s the lesson that I take from the most recent election.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, who is term-limited three years from now and has been mentioned as a possible candidate for national office in the future, noted that the upcoming Trump administration\u2019s Cabinet picks open the door for Democrats to press their arguments.<\/p>\n
\u201cI certainly don’t want to do any finger pointing, because the vice president had 107 days, and she did her very best. And I proudly criss-crossed the country in support of her,\u201d Beshear said in an interview with CBS\u2019 \u201cFace the Nation.\u201d \u201cBut what I know is, going forward, over the next couple years, we have a chance every day, every moment, to show the American people that we are laser-focused on jobs, on their health care, on their infrastructure, on their kids\u2019 education \u2014 just those everyday worries.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added, \u201cAnd with this administration, at least right now selecting some very extreme appointees, it’s a chance to make a real difference, to really show people that we’re where their basic needs are.\u201d<\/p>\n
Beshear also noted that this does not mean Democrats should abandon their beliefs, pointing to his veto of an anti-LGBTQ+ bill passed by Republicans in the state legislature, but then got back to discussing jobs the next day.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we’re talking about this issue of the day, and then we’re talking about what Donald Trump said last night,\u201d Beshear said. \u201cAnd then we’re talking about jobs \u2014 we’re only spending a third of the time talking about what people are worried about and what impacts their life the most.\u201d<\/p>\n