Among Democrats, there is plenty of blame to go around in the aftermath of the 2024 presidential election. That is why it is unsurprising that they have fallen quickly into a game of “if only.”

“If only Joe Biden had dropped out long before he did.” “If only Vice President Harris had chosen Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro as her running mate.” “If only she had more forcefully and clearly distanced herself from Joe Biden.”

Looking backward is, of course, a natural response to any catastrophic event. But the problems that emerged for Democrats in the 2024 election are more than short-term or temporary events. If unaddressed, they are likely to plague the Democratic Party for years to come.

Simply put, the party has alienated significant segments of its base. Led by white progressives, the party has moved sharply to the left, while many people of color have not.

As CNN reports, “Latino voters, and men in particular, have been moving toward Donald Trump since 2016. This year, Latino men broke in his direction for the first time. Biden won their support by 23 points in 2020 and Trump won them in 2024. Latina women still favored Harris, but by smaller margins than they supported either Clinton or Biden.”

Moreover, fewer Black men supported Harris than either Biden in 2020 or Hilary Clinton in 2016. Harris outperformed Biden by 3 points among Black women but received 6 points less support than Clinton had when she ran for president.

These trends were exacerbated among non-white who do not have college degrees. The message they sent was that they want their leaders to worry less about defunding the police and more about making sure that the police respond when they call; less about hurting........

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