I am not entirely convinced by the hypothesis according to which Kamala Harris’s refocusing strategy would have had an impact in facilitating the demobilization of the left electorate. Already, in the polls coming out of the polls, the people who call themselves “liberals”, that is to say left-wing, are as numerous from one election to the next. I think that, even if they were not convinced by Kamala Harris, they voted above all against Donald Trump – as did all segments of the Democratic electorate.
On the other hand, this strategy had also been put in place by Joe Biden, and it was absolutely necessary: to face the Democratic decline among the blue-collar workers of the declining working-class Rust Belt, which really seems inexorable, the Democrats must find a replacement electorate. Most of the analyzes carried out on the basis of polls or the study of electoral results show that white voters from working-class categories who switched in 2016 from a Democratic vote to Donald Trump will not come back: they are now voting with identity concerns in mind.
The replacement electorate for the Democrats is above all the white electorate, educated and from the upper middle classes who populate the suburbs of large cities. From the 1950s to the 2000s, it was the main base of the Republican electorate, but some of them are disgusted by the style and rhetoric of Donald Trump. It is thanks to the shift of some of them that Georgia, North Carolina and Arizona became swing stateswhereas they were impregnable republican bastions twenty years ago. Sure, it didn’t work this year, but I feel like the Democratic Party doesn’t really have any other options going forward.
This does not mean that such a strategy cannot be articulated with the putting forward of proposals clearly anchored on the left on the minimum wage, the health system, the protection of workers, all issues on which the Democrats are, in public opinion, in a position of strength. More broadly, it seems to me that, rather than the debate between a “left” or “center” campaign, what Kamala Harris has lacked is to develop a real narrative, a real vision for America, based on strong and concrete proposals. She could have oriented it a little more to the left or a little more to the center, that’s not really the point. The subject is that it was necessary to try to impose themes in the campaign, both to deal with the Trumpist media steamroller and to try to change the focus of the campaign, which focused above all on the discontent of Americans regarding the economic situation. Obviously, it’s easier said than done, especially when you only have one hundred and seven days left…
