When Donald J. Trump won the presidency in 2016, he ignited a debate within the Democratic Party over what sort of coalition it needed to assemble to win power. As Trump flirts with another run in 2024, the party’s strategy is very much a live discussion today.
There are those who say Democrats need to do more to appeal to white suburbanites, and those who think it’s more important to focus on growing core constituencies, like African Americans, Hispanics, and younger voters. And there are those, notably the influential data analyst David Shor, who say the party has drifted too far away from the interests of working-class voters of all backgrounds.
It’s a discussion that touches on everything from the policies that Democrats develop — Green New Deal or middle-class tax cuts? — to the messages they deliver to voters: Abolish ICE or secure the border first?
But where the debate gets especially concrete is over voter registration, a subject with a rich tradition closely identified with the civil rights movement of the 1960s.
The latest entry into the debate comes from Forward Majority, a Democratic-aligned super PAC focused on winning the sorts of state legislative races that are increasingly central in American politics.
In a provocative new “Blueprint for Power,” the group calls for a “radical departure” from the Democratic Party’s existing strategy, which has left Republicans in command of key state legislatures across the country.