Democrat Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet disagreed with California Gov. Gavin Newsom Sunday, acknowledging the party’s brand problems but blaming states like California and New York and their “educated elites.”
Newsom appeared on “Real Time With Bill Maher” Friday evening, stating that his party’s brand was “toxic,” adding how Democrats “talk down” to voters. On “Meet the Press,” host Kristen Welker pressed the senator about Newsom’s comment, asking if he agreed with the California governor about their party’s brand image.
“I do agree that the Democratic Party brand is really problematic,” Bennet said. “I think that it is a brand that is, with all respect to my colleague from California, is associated with New York and with California is associated with the educated elites in this country and and not anymore with working people in this country.”
During former President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’ 2024 campaigns, the Democrat Party struggled to gain traction among the working class. With key issues like the economy, inflation and the border, Democrats failed to connect as the Biden-Harris administration saw record highs for voters’ major concerns.
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Bennet went on to state that he believes Trump’s “trickle down economics” is good news for the party as it will allegedly “create again the tax cuts for the wealthiest people in the United States and pay for it by taking away health care from the American people.”
“But the Democratic Party ought to be able to come back under those circumstances with a pretty good argument about why we could lead better than Donald Trump and why we are able to provide a better set of economic policies, a much better set of healthcare policies that ensures universal health care finally for everybody in this country,” Bennet added.
“If the Democratic Party would show up with some imagination, I think not only would we do better, the American the American people would do,” Bennet said.
Debate over what is to blame for the Democrats’ loss in November has been an ongoing discussion among party members. While some have called out the brand and messaging to voters, others have warned about the party’s left-wing policy push and how it failed to resonate with voters at the ballot box.
Senate Democrats on March 3 blocked legislation that would ban transgender athletes from participating in girls’ and women’s sports. The push from Democrats to block Republican Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s legislation notably came despite roughly eight in 10 Americans, including Democrat voters, opposing biological males participating in women’s sports.
In a CNN/SSRS poll released March 16, over 30% of respondents to the survey could not name a Democrat leader who they believe “best reflects the core values” of the party, with one respondent telling CNN, “that’s the problem” with Democrats.
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