The focus groups offer “a pretty scathing rebuke” of the Democratic Party brand, said Rachael Russell, director of polling and analytics at Navigator Research, a project within the Hub Project, which is a Democratic nonprofit group.
“This weakness they see, [Democrats] not getting things done, not being able to actually fight for people — is something that needs to be figured out,” Russell said.
Even though the focus group voters did not solely blame Harris for their distaste of the Democratic Party, they also weren’t happy about her candidacy.
President Trump is for you.” Democrats disagree on the potency of the attack ad, but several participants raised it unprompted in the focus groups.
When asked by the moderator if she was referring to the “trans issue,” the woman said, “primarily that.”
The focus group study, which was initially made public by POLITICO, is the most recent alarming pulse check for a party that is still reeling from its November setbacks and trying to figure out how to move forward. Having lost in November in almost every demographic and lacking a clear party leader, Democrats are entering a second Trump administration without a cohesive plan to boost their chances of winning. Furthermore, the focus group feedback revealed that Democrats’ issues are even more pervasive and possibly more permanent than a single election cycle, despite the fact that some Democrats blame Biden, others blame inflation, and still others blame “losing hold of culture.”.
The focus groups are “a pretty scathing rebuke” of the Democratic Party brand, according to Rachael Russell, director of polling and analytics at Navigator Research, a project of the Hub Project, a Democratic nonprofit organization.
“They need to figure out this weakness they see, [Democrats] not getting things done, not real fighting for people,” Russell stated. It could be the policy, not the message. It could be something a little more serious that the party needs to deal with. “”.
The focus groups, which were organized by the Democratic polling firm GBAO and took place right after the 2024 election, included three different types of voters: young men in battleground states who supported Biden in 2020 but did not vote for him in 2024; voters in battleground states who supported Biden in 2020 but did not cast a ballot in 2024; and voters in blue states who had previously supported Democrats, a third-party candidate, or did not cast a ballot in 2020 but supported Trump in 2024.
“I think the Democratic elites and their politicians have a lot of different ideas than the average Democratic voter,” stated a man from Georgia who supported Biden in 2020 but Trump in 2024. “I believe that the Democratic Party’s elites are far too preoccupied with appealing to the extreme left-wing social progressivism that is so prevalent on college campuses. “”.
Both the focus groups and a post-election poll that revealed Trump’s highest approval rating since 2020 in a GBAO survey revealed cautious optimism among these voters regarding Trump’s second term. The national poll, which polled 1,000 people, revealed that, for the first time since he left office, 47 percent of respondents thought favorably of Trump and 50 percent did not.
Russell contended that Trump’s high ratings are a reflection of a “honeymoon” period that will end once he assumes office: “Once things start happening, it’s going to take a turn, and so it’s going to rely really heavily on the actions in the first 100 days to see how we go from here.”. “.”.
Additionally, she pointed out that the polling indicates that Democrats have opportunities on topics like health care, abortion, and taxing the wealthy, as well as a concern that Trump might overreact on tariffs. Inflation should be the top issue for the next president, according to two-thirds of voters, but only one-third thought that Trump or the Republicans should prioritize it, according to their survey.
Asking focus group participants about tariffs and inflation, many of them admitted they expected prices to rise while others claimed they didn’t fully understand the policy.
“I would obviously not want prices to increase, but would it be better for America in the long run and perhaps have more things made here?” asked a Wisconsin man.
Despite not blaming Harris alone for their dislike of the Democratic Party, the focus group participants expressed dissatisfaction with her candidacy. She was called “inauthentic,” “very dishonest,” and “did not seem competent” by the participants. “.”.
“I didn’t see an honest person that could be president,” said a man from Arizona, referring to Harris’s statement that “you better thank a union member” during a speech in Detroit. “.”.
Another man, who voted for Biden in 2020 and Trump in 2024, stated, “It seemed like a lot of what she came out and said wasn’t really off-the-cuff, wasn’t coming from her.”. In contrast to Trump, who, although you never really know what he’s going to say, always says what he thinks and does so in a genuine way, which is what convinced me. It seemed like every interview she did, every time she came out and talked about something, was preplanned and never her thoughts, and didn’t seem genuine to her thoughts. “”.
In the midst of contemplating her own future, the vice president is evaluating whether to run for president a third time or to become governor of California in 2026. Biden’s late withdrawal from the race, according to some party loyalists, hindered the vice president’s three-month sprint, so they have declared they would support another presidential run. Others, however, are not prepared to support it.
The Trump campaign’s transgender attack ad against Harris, which featured a 2019 video of her endorsing gender-affirming surgery for state prison inmates, was also brought up by a few participants. The tagline for the advertisement read, “Kamala is for they/them.”. You should support President Trump. “.”.
In the focus groups, a number of participants brought up the attack ad without being asked, although Democrats disagree on its effectiveness.
One of the biggest issues facing Democrats in November was the low turnout. According to a Georgia woman who did not cast a ballot in 2024, Harris’ “thinking that it’s okay for children to change their body parts” was unacceptable to her. “.”.
“I believe that there should be some boundaries defining what society considers acceptable and unacceptable. A Wisconsin woman who did not cast a ballot in 2024 also stated, “I believe that the Democrats have attempted to open that up a little too much, and some of the societal norms.”.
The woman responded, “primarily that,” when the moderator asked if she was referring to the “trans issue.”. “.”.
