'This isn’t working': Swing state Dem voters aim to 'save the Democratic Party from itself'

Editor's note: The last sentence of the second paragraph has been updated.

Despite raising more money and an army of grassroots campaign volunteers at her disposal, Vice President Kamala Harris lost every single swing state to President-elect Donald Trump in November. Now, Democrats in one of those states are expressing their frustration with party leaders, arguing they have so far failed to learn why they lost.

The Guardian recently reported from Saginaw County, Michigan, where Trump eked out a win over Harris by a little more than 3,000 votes across the county despite President Joe Biden narrowly carrying the county in 2020. Voters there recently had a back-and-forth with Michigan Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Democratic state representative Amos O'Neal, but came away unsatisfied with their party's current crop of leaders.

"I’ve been paying careful attention to the influencers within the Democratic party," said biotechnology scientist Vincent Oriedo, who was at the meeting. "Their discussions have centered around, ‘If only we messaged better, if only we had a better candidate, if only we did all these superficial things.’ There is really a lack of understanding that they are losing their base, losing constituencies they are taking for granted."

READ MORE: 'Wake him up early and keep him up late': How Dems can 'nail Trump to the wall' in 2nd term

Saginaw City Council member Carly Hammond agreed that the party was so far learning the wrong lessons from 2024. She told the Guardian that Democratic leaders have "really put themselves in a position of loss for a generation" due to misunderstanding what she views as a fundamental political realignment based on working-class issues.

"We have set ourselves up for generational loss because we keep promoting from within leaders that that do not criticize the moneyed interests," Hammond said. "They refuse to take a hard look at what Americans actually believe and meet those needs."

Saginaw Democratic Party activist Pat Parker — who has been active in Democratic politics over the last 20 years — told the outlet that she had been "screaming locally at the Harris campaign: 'This isn't working" in the lead-up to the election regarding their outreach strategy to Michiganders. She's since been organizing meetings of local union leaders, Black community stakeholders and others to re-energize the base. But Hammond said the national party apparatus has so far been resistant to hearing from local groups.

"A lot of people on the ground level, a lot of community organizers, a lot of people who were giving the warnings are exhausted of trying to save the Democratic party from itself," Hammond said. "They’re the ones who have been shown the door long ago as the party systematically excised criticism from its midst. The leadership actually don’t want a big tent, they want a very top down small tent."

READ MORE: 'Not good enough anymore': Union leader explains why Dems lost economic argument to Trump

Click here to read the Guardian's full report.