“We screwed up.” Michigan Democrats reflect on failed election and Trump victory

Mistrust, tactical mistakes and potential lessons for the next campaign. Such was the thinking of Michigan Democratic politicians in the immediate aftermath of this year’s election, which brought heavy losses for their party and left them with few bright—or rather, blue—spots.

“I was prepared for the bad, but I wasn’t prepared for a complete ass kicking,” state Rep. Kelly Breen, D-Novi, said after Republicans won the state House. Breen said she is horrified by the country’s election of former President Donald Trump and said she believes the top of the presidential race has eclipsed the fight for control of the state House and the Democratic legislative base. “But I suspect a lot of people came out of line to vote in this race and this race only,” Breen said. “I hoped that women would come to us more. I don’t know what happened. I just relied on people’s decency.”

Vice President Kamala Harris lost Michigan. But U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Holly, defeated Former Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers of Brighton will win Michigan’s open U.S. Senate seat. Democrats have lost their majority in Michigan’s congressional delegation but say Sen. Kristen McDonald Rivet, D-Bay City, won competitive race to succeed American Dan Kildee, D-Flint. Democrats lost their majority State House but maintained their majority on the Michigan Supreme Court.

State Rep. Joey Andrews, D-St. Joseph said the fallout from the election is reminiscent of 2016, when Hillary Clinton lost to Trump. “We need to look within ourselves first,” he said of Democrats, who he said were responsible for Trump’s victory. “It’s our fault. We’re screwed.”

State Sen. Jeff Irwin, an Ann Arbor Democrat, said the presidential race was always going to be tight. “When an election is this close, there are always a thousand different things you can do differently to win the election, right?” – he said. “There will be a lot of impact analysis.”

Although Harris failed to win Michigan and Democrats lost control of the state House of Representatives, Tuesday’s results were not a harsh blow or indictment of the party’s current standing among voters, said state Rep. Phil Skaggs, a Kentwood Democrat. “This is not a catastrophic loss,” he said. He, like other Michigan Democratic politicians, identified blue-collar, working-class voters as an electorate that Democrats will have to work on. “People were nostalgic for the pre-COVID economy,” Skaggs said. “It wasn’t a red tide.”

Economic messaging was a central theme of Trump’s campaign. But Democrats had a messaging problem, many Democrats said.

As Trump rallied around Michigan, he promised to improve the economy. Trump has proposed a variety of policy plans, from raising tariffs on foreign products to cutting taxes on everything from Social Security, tips and auto loans. But Trump has not provided details about exactly how his economic policies will be implemented or how tax revenue used to pay for things like Social Security will be returned.

State Representative Tyrone Carter, a Detroit Democrat, spoke about federal Covid-19 relief initiatives and infrastructure spending, as well as legislation passed by Democrats in Michigan, such as repealing the pension tax. “I don’t think Democrats have achieved these goals enough,” Carter said Wednesday. “The rescue plan, the COVID relief, it’s not just Democrats who benefited from it. There were businesses that could have gone bankrupt, Republicans and Democrats.”

Andrews said Harris did not offer much of an economic message. How would her proposal for down payment assistance help someone who already owns a home, or how would her small business relief plan help someone who doesn’t own a business, Andrews asked.

Although Democrats emphasized abortion rightsSherry Gay-Dagnogo, a former state legislator and school board member, said the party’s message emphasizes reproductive rights at the expense of “bread and butter issues” and a focus on solutions to poverty. “Our party is tone deaf,” Gay-Dagnogo said. Abortion rights are important, but they don’t cover all women’s health issues, she said. Gay-Dagnogo placed much of the blame on unnamed white women in the state party, who she said favor the spread of messages that emphasize reproductive rights at the expense of other issues and allow out-of-state operatives to make decisions that should be left to grassroots activists to cities like Detroit.

Gay-Dagnogo also had some criticism of Michigan Democratic Party Chair Lavora Barnes, who she said was told black women needed more of a voice in the party, but it had little effect. Andrews said the state party needed quite a significant change in leadership. A representative for Barnes did not respond to an interview request for this article.

Democrats also appear open to conciliation over the future shape of the party coalition.

More: From electric vehicles and mass deportations to prices: 5 ways a Trump presidency could impact Michigan

More: How Donald Trump defeated Kamala Harris in Michigan

State Rep. Dylan Wegela, a progressive lawmaker D-Garden City, called the election a wake-up call of sorts. “The Democratic Party needs to find its voice among the working class. I think what we’re seeing is that we’re losing working class voters, and they like what Trump says,” Wegela said. Democrats have cast Trump as a “villain” or “bogeyman” and he has said the party must put forward a positive vision for the working class, an overhaul of campaign finance and corporate responsibility. “And I don’t think we’re doing that,” he said. Instead of leaning on Democratic values, he called Harris’s “biggest mistake” in the election was Harris’ decision to attract moderate Republicans, which included stopping the campaign with former U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming.

Meanwhile, fresh from her reelection in a traditionally Republican congressional district in Kent County, U.S. Rep. Hillary Scholten, D-Grand Rapids, said many in western Michigan no longer feel they have a place in Trump’s Republican Party. Democrats still need to do a better job of wooing these voters and making them feel welcome, she said.

“I really hope people are paying attention to what’s going on in western Michigan. The political tailwinds were not in Democrats’ favor,” Scholten said.

Not every Democrat wanted to talk about the election. Spokesmen for Democratic Senate Leader Winnie Brinks of Grand Rapids, Attorney General Dana Nessel and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer did not respond to Free Press requests for interviews. Representatives for House Speaker Joe Tate (D-Detroit) and U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit) said they would let the Free Press know if either wanted to talk. The Free Press received no response.

In their statements Wednesday, Brinks, Tate and Whitmer laid out what’s next:

“As we transition into a new term, I remain committed to protecting the rights of all Michiganders, creating economic opportunity for the middle class, and working with people of all political stripes to come to the table in good faith,” Brinks said. .

“House Democrats will work hard to regain the majority and ensure a bright future for the millions of residents who make Michigan their home,” Tate promised.

“Now that the election is behind us, let us remember that our country is full of patriots—Democrats, Republicans and Independents,” Whitmer said. “If you love Michigan, you have to love your fellow Michiganders—no matter what.”

Contact Clara Hendrickson: [email protected] or 313-296-5743. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter. @clarajanehen.

Contact Arpan Lobo: [email protected]

Contact Paul Egan at 517-372-8660 or [email protected].

This article originally appeared in the Detroit Free Press: After Trump retakes Michigan, Democrats reflect on election loss