By Nandita Bose, Jarrett Renshaw and Gabriella Borter
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Anger and soul-searching gripped the Democratic Party early on Wednesday morning, after Vice President Kamala Harris suffered an election loss that stunned some party officials and voters.
Harris was the self-proclaimed underdog against her Republican rival, Donald Trump, after entering the race less than three months ago, but the nature of her loss has some Democrats asking questions about the party’s future.
The sharpest criticism included accusations that the party had lied to supporters about President Joe Biden’s mental health until a disastrous televised debate with Trump in June raised alarm bells and ultimately led to the president leaving the race.
One Democratic donor asked, “Why did Joe Biden hang on as long as he did? He shouldn’t have hidden his (health) and dropped out much sooner.”
Biden, 81, has privately said he believed he was the only Democrat who could beat Trump and publicly vowed he was fit to serve another four years. When he dropped out of the race in July, he said he had decided it was “in the best interests of my party and the country for me to stand down”.
Biden’s announcement in April 2023 that he would run for re-election was met with skepticism by many Democrats, but likely potential challengers quickly agreed to join his campaign as advisers, rather than challenge him.
The party “needs a complete reboot,” hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, a longtime Democratic donor who backed Trump in 2024, said on X. “The party lied to the American people about the president’s cognitive health and fitness,” he said. , and then failed to hold a primary to replace him.
The Harris campaign declined comment and the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
WOMEN AND YOUNG VOTERS
However, the concern went deeper.
Two groups Harris counted on to beat Trump — increasingly diverse young voters, believed to be motivated by climate change, liberal values and her social media savvy, and women worried about curtailing abortion rights under a Republican — went in his direction instead.
Trump’s overall share of voters under 45 increased by two percentage points from 2020, as did his share of female voters, Edison Research exit poll data shows. Trump also increased his support in many suburban areas, where Democrats thought they had made a breakthrough.
The shift came even as the Harris campaign insisted the race was close and she was picking up new voters.
A Democratic National Committee official said he fielded angry text messages from party members late Tuesday night. “They feel cheated by the campaign,” the official said.
Trump’s anti-immigration rhetoric also appeared to resonate with voters even in Democratic heartlands like Connecticut and Massachusetts, mirroring a trend seen in many liberal democracies where high housing and other costs have been blamed on newcomers.
Canada’s Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, for example, cut immigration levels amid criticism from the right, and Europe’s far-right parties have vowed to tighten immigration rules, while peeling away votes from the center-left.
Harris’ defeat is the Democrats’ second bitter loss to Trump in the last three elections. Hillary Clinton’s defeat in 2016 had paved the way for Biden to run.
A convicted felon, Trump’s unorthodox economic proposals, including blanket tariffs on imports, will be costly for American consumers and businesses, economists say. His plans to deport millions of people who are in the country illegally would disrupt industries and communities.
Still, Trump was winning with Latino voters and had easy wins in Georgia and North Carolina, states where Democrats believed they were competitive. Harris’ whirlwind campaign, built around an inclusive vision of America and stronger fiscal support for families, had emphasized hope and positivity.
Biden and Harris’ support for Israel during its attack on Gaza divided the Democratic Party, with many progressive Democrats unsuccessfully calling on the United States to limit its military aid to Israel. It cost votes among left-leaning Democrats.
Harris remained at her Washington residence through the evening as crowds waited outside her alma mater Howard University, where the campaign had set up a stage and media center, awaiting days of vote counting before the results.
As the results began to trickle in, her campaign chairman Cedric Richmond took the stage to tell the dwindling crowds that the race wasn’t over yet. Hours later it was.
(Reporting by Nandita Bose and Jarrett Renshaw; Editing by Heather Timmons, Mark Bendeich and Deepa Babington)
