It’s the people, stupid!: A blueprint to creating a 21st century progressive populist Democratic Party

The Democrats suffered devastating losses in the 2010 and 2014 Midterm Elections, resulting in the forfeiture of their majority in the Senate, while the Republican Party, riding the tidal wave of momentum provided by the Tea Party movement, strengthened their grasp on the House, Governorships, and State Legislatures. ❧ National opinion polls show, on an issue-by-issue basis, a majority of Americans support many platform positions endorsed by the Democratic Party, and 2016 candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. If this is the case, why are they struggling in down-ballot elections, and pushing a progressive agenda? After using the 2014 Midterm Election as a case study and developing a robust SWOT analysis, the Democrats have a brand issue and a tendency of running center-right candidates and campaigns, in an effort to syphon Independent and moderate Republican voters from the GOP. This has alienated them from working-class, rural white voters and fails to inspire their coalition to turn out to vote in sub-presidential elections, which hurts their ability to consistently seize majorities in Congress, Governorships, and State Legislatures. ❧ This thesis will argue why this is an outdated strategy through providing evidence of a seismic shift in demographics, culture, political ideology, and technology. The Millennial generation will present America’s largest, most diverse, pragmatic, and politically neutral generation in American history. This thesis will argue the Democrats should pursue and effectively communicate a progressive, populist, center-left platform in order to thrive in the 21st Century.