In cities across the United States, the Democratic Party is hosting People’s Town Hall meetings, where voters can ask questions to party leaders and express their views. Most attendees come prepared, eager to discuss “where the issue lies” and how the Democratic Party can better communicate with voters – questions that they feel remain unanswered.
In last year’s presidential election, the Democratic Party saw a decrease in voting percentages across various demographic groups. Many men, especially Black and Hispanic men, turned away from the Democratic Party, leading to a 35-point shift towards the Republican Party in these two groups.
Since then, Democratic Party leaders and progressives have been reflecting on their defeat in public comments.
The Epoch Times participated in several Democratic People’s Town Hall meetings and found that local Democratic officials and voters primarily attribute the 2024 defeat to a lack of communication.
They do not believe the reason for the loss is, as some Democrats claim, the party’s policies leaning too far left. Attendees expressed their belief that the Democratic Party’s progressive vision for America – including income equality, social justice, climate change policies, and abortion rights – remains appealing. However, they feel these ideas were not effectively conveyed during the previous election. They also stressed that the Democratic Party needs to improve its methods of information dissemination and communication in the upcoming 2026 midterm elections.
“We have already over-nationalized politics, which makes people want to detach from it,” said Anderson Clayton, the Democratic Party chairman in North Carolina, after a People’s Town Hall meeting held in New Bern, North Carolina in May.
“People believe that we are not talking enough about the real issues that affect their daily lives, namely economic issues.”
Grassroots Democrats seem to agree. They say that last year, the Democratic Party spent too much time focusing on negative messages, such as attacking the Washington D.C.-based think tank “The Heritage Foundation” and their “Project 2025,” which led the party to lose credibility among voters.
“We have been talking about ‘The 2025 Plan,’ and I think people don’t believe us. They don’t think it’s going to happen,” said Diane Tyndall, the financial director of the Craven County Democratic Committee in North Carolina.
“Democrats have been trying to combat anger with anger… and I don’t think that’s a good way to convey the message,” said Tim Witherspoon, a candidate for the Bucks County Local Education Committee in Pennsylvania.
Democratic attendees at the Town Hall meetings did not question the popularity of their policies. Some Democrats, like California Governor Gavin Newsom and Congressman Seth Moulton from Massachusetts, believe that stances on social issues by some progressives, especially on transgender rights, have cost the Democratic Party votes. At these People’s Town Hall meetings, voters believe that they can still win with the same ideas, provided they are expressed better.
“We tried to be a little more moderate, and we faced trouble,” said educator Nancy Jeannechild at a People’s Town Hall meeting in Baltimore, Maryland. “I tend to think that Americans actually support more progressive policies, such as gun control, abortion rights, and union rights.”
Regarding messaging, Democrats feel that they have been communicating mainly through mainstream news networks and spaces dominated by progressives, like late-night talk show hosts, which has left them feeling frustrated. They regret that Democratic candidates are unwilling to appear on conservative and non-traditional media programs.
“The problem is, we have been (too) focused on being careful. We only accept certain interviews from CNN and MSNBC… but we might not accept interviews from Fox News, or in fact, we do not accept interviews from podcasts because… the political views of that podcast may not fully align with ours,” said Democratic Senator Ruben Gallego at a Town Hall meeting in Levittown, Pennsylvania in May.
“They said some stupid things a few years ago, so we can’t go there because if we do, we face resistance from our own people.”
Attendees felt that it was a sore point that then-Democratic presidential candidate and Vice President Kamala Harris did not appear on the popular American podcast “The Joe Rogan Experience,” whereas former Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump made a prominent appearance on the program, garnering a positive response.
The Republican candidate accepted a series of podcast interviews, including with the Nelk Boys, Theo Von, and Andrew Schulz’s “Flagrant” podcast.
“In the last election, the Republicans did a great job in supporting influencers and podcasts,” said Reyna Walters-Morgan, the Vice Chair of Citizen Engagement and Voter Participation at the Democratic National Committee, at a People’s Town Hall meeting in New Bern. “They collaborated with influencers who have over ten thousand followers, as well as those with less than ten thousand.”
She mentioned that although the audience numbers may not be high, Republicans participating in such programs helped them connect with swing voters and influenced them to vote for Trump.
“They did not appear on political podcasts, but participated in dating podcasts or fitness podcasts. They conveyed their message where people discuss everyday issues and products, and then inserted conservative right-wing views… and that was effective,” Walters-Morgan said. “Unfortunately, I think we are three to five years behind Republicans in this regard.”
However, some Democrats are taking action. In recent months, several Democrats who may run in 2028 have started their podcasts or appeared on various podcasts popular among young people.
Newsom interviewed conservative figures like former Trump strategist Steve Bannon and Charlie Kirk, co-founder of Turning Point USA, on his podcast. Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear also launched his podcast earlier this year.
Pete Buttigieg, who served as Secretary of Transportation in the Biden administration, recently appeared on Andrew Schulz’s “Flagrant” podcast, which Trump appeared on last fall. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro also appeared on the podcast “Men at Work Podcast.”
A Democratic voter mentioned that the promotion and investment on social media by the Democratic Party need to continue, rather than just around election times.
“You can certainly hold these People’s Town Hall events,” said University of Maryland student Victoria Kovtun. “But for those ordinary people who do not attend Town Hall meetings, who are not as active and do not have as much information, you need to connect with them through social media to truly push this forward.”