By Kevin Harris and Richard McDaniel
The Washington Informer
https://www.washingtoninformer.com/
Last month marked National Voter Registration Day and Democrats sure could use the help. Between 2020 and 2024, Democrats lost 2.1 million registered voters while Republicans gained 2.4 million across the 30 states that track party registration. That’s a net swing of 4.5 million voters — adding to Democrats bleeding as more Americans already have negative impressions about our brand.
Democrats’ approval ratings have dropped below 35% among white men, Hispanic men, and working-class voters across the board. The party’s advantage among Black adults has shrunk to its smallest margin since 1999, while Donald Trump nearly doubled his support among Black voters and drew even with Democrats among Hispanic voters in 2024.
These numbers hold strong implications for the Democratic Party’s ability to win national elections. In the battleground state of Pennsylvania our voter registration lead has collapsed from over 500,000 to just 53,000 today. Similar trends exist across several other key battlegrounds needed to recapture Congress and the White House.
Like our brand, the key infrastructure Democrats need to win is crumbling.
Democrats have made fatal assumptions about voter loyalty among key groups. For too long, we assumed working-class white, Black and Brown voters would always be there. We stopped meaningfully organizing these communities. Our engagement is relatively tepid, simply investing resources late in the game just before an election. Voters are right to ask where have we been?
To win again, Democrats must re-engage the working class from the ground up 365 days a year. Democrats need permanent staff conducting monthly drives at community centers, churches, barbershops, and college campuses — not just during campaign season.
We need year-round organizing that connects our policies with the daily struggles working-class voters are experiencing. Registering voters without educating them about Democratic policies is political malpractice.
We have to remember that politics is relational and not every objective can be achieved through a splashy advertising campaign alone. Democrats need consistent presence supporting local causes and community events that build trust over time across communities.
And Democrats must make digital organizing and texting a permanent fixture, particularly in reaching young working-class voters.
Regular town halls and listening sessions must happen year-round to maintain coalitions, not just when Democrats need votes.
The bottom line is that 4.5 million voters didn’t swing away from Democrats overnight. This resulted from years of Democratic neglect while Republicans methodically engaged in voter manipulation and intimidation to lock in a governing majority.
Trump’s attacks on the democratic process and integrity of our elections are well documented. He’s pressuring red states to redraw congressional maps before the 2026 midterms to ensure a GOP majority before a single vote has been cast.
When Republicans control redistricting, they eliminate competitive districts. When they suppress civic engagement through intimidation, they reduce Democratic turnout. All of this adds up to the working class losing more and more ground and Democrats falling farther behind.
The only counter to systematic voter suppression is systematic voter engagement — infrastructure that works 365 days a year.
Republicans are playing the long game while Democrats play election to election. The GOP is investing in permanent infrastructure while Democrats rely on temporary and transactional mobilization. Republicans are building sustained relationships while Democrats send texts every two years asking for votes.
Democrats are treating voters as numbers instead of building genuine relationships. The path forward requires admitting the old model failed and committing to year-round organizing — showing up consistently, investing communities, and earning trust through sustained presence must be central to how Democrats regain relevancy in the lives of working-class voters.
Democracy isn’t a spectator sport, and neither is voter engagement. Democrats must stop analyzing our problems with working-class voters and start acting to bring those voters back into the fold block by block and one registration at a time.
Kevin Harris and Richard McDaniel are veteran Democratic strategists of more than 100 political campaigns, including the past five presidential elections and several congressional campaigns. They co-host the “Maroon Bison Presents: The Southern Comfort Podcast.”
