Shell-shocked Democrats in Congress weigh rewriting playbook to win back voters

Democrats say it’s time for some soul-searching.

That’s the message from party lawmakers in the House and Senate who say they must embrace more populist policies and messaging aimed at low-income and working-class voters who helped President-elect Donald Trump win the White House and deliver Congress to the GOP.

“We need to have our own self-reckoning,” Rep. Mark Takano, California Democrat, said after huddling with fellow lawmakers in the Capitol on Wednesday.

Democrat lawmakers returned to Washington this week after a thrashing by voters on Nov. 5 that left them reexamining their old playbook.

Mr. Trump won every swing state, carried by both working-class voters and historic gains among Black and Hispanic voters. Mr. Trump’s popularity among what was once the reliable Democratic base helped Republicans hold onto their slim majority in the House and flip the Senate to Republican control, in part by knocking out longtime incumbent Democrats.

“We’re having ongoing family conversations that will be candid, clear-eyed and comprehensive, and we look forward to continuing those discussions,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, New York Democrat, told The Washington Times after meeting with his rank and file.

Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer, New York Democrat who will be relegated to the minority in January, said the party “will spend a long time learning and then figure out how to move forward.”

Democrats in the halls of Congress ruminated on their losses, some marveling at Mr. Trump’s gains in deep-blue urban areas.

They said the president-elect’s promises to lower everyday costs such as gas, rent and grocery prices and make the nation safer by securing the border clearly resonated with voters.

“There is no doubt inflation and the immigration issue were the two major issues,” said Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland, who served as the No. 2 House Democrat for decades. “We need to deal with immigration. We can’t have open borders. We need to make sure we know who’s coming into the country. We still need immigration, but it cannot be open. It can’t be such a large number coming in and that are here without our knowledge and authorization.”

Democratic leaders said they plan to closely scrutinize voting data from individual districts to further understand their losses, and are planning to hold listening sessions with each House Democrat.

“There will be time in the weeks ahead to have more conversations, based on data, on what we need to do. But talking about those kitchen-table issues is going to be very high on the list,” said Rep. Pete Aguilar of California, who chairs the Democratic Conference.

Veteran party lawmakers said Democrats need to engage in some close introspection.

“I told the caucus this morning, when you take a political pounding, become a student, not a victim,” Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, Missouri Democrat, said after the meeting. “And the point is that we need to be looking deeply into this whole thing.”

Sen. Chris Murphy, Connecticut Democrat, said the party should embrace economic populism reminiscent of the movement led by Sen. Bernard Sanders of Vermont, a socialist and independent who votes with the Democrats.

Mr. Sanders won millions of Democratic votes in the 2016 Democratic presidential primary by proposing an “economic bill of rights” and pitching a tax on the wealthy. He pledged to end income inequality and provide government health care for all, among other proposals aimed at lower-income Americans.

If Democrats hope to win back some of the voters who backed Mr. Trump and his populist agenda, they must deliver their own message in a way that avoids snubbing those who lean conservative on gun control and other non-economic issues, Mr. Murphy said.

“I think we need to be much more careful about disinviting them from a conversation because we have a lot of other issues that we may agree on,” Mr. Murphy said. “But there are a lot of people inside our movement who don’t want to talk to anybody who isn’t with us on 100% of the issues.”

Democrats are already eyeing their way back into power in the 2026 midterm elections, which often favor the party out of power.

Democrats in both the House and Senate are largely sticking with their leadership teams they hope will lead the party back to the majority.

Mr. Jeffries tried to take the blame for the election results when he addressed the caucus, but lawmakers booed his mea culpa speech, instead showing their support for him.

“It’s going to be a 100% vote for Hakeem Jeffries,” Mr. Cleaver said.