This is What Democrats Need to do to Win

by Rod Williams, Nov. 3, 2025- I recently posted about a new study produced by a center-left think tank.  The study, called Deciding to Win, examines why, in the face of Donald Trump's chaos and authoritarianism, the Democratic Party remains so unpopular and what the party must do to win. As I said in that post, if these were normal times, I would hope this study stayed buried and no one read it, because if these were normal times, I would want the party to keep doing what they are doing. However, I think Democrats need to retake the House in order to check Donald Trump, so I hope Democrats will read the study and take its message to heart. 

The study is heavy on charts and data.  It draws on thousands of election results, hundreds of public polls and academic papers, dozens of case studies, and surveys of more than 500,000 voters conducted since the 2024 election. Like most such studies, it is kind of dry reading.  However, if you are a wonkinsh poli sci type, you will find it interesting. 

Here is the bottom line. The study says, to give Democrats the best chance to win, they need to make the following changes: 

1. Focus our policy agenda and our messaging on an economic program centered on 
lowering costs, growing the economy, creating jobs, and expanding the social safety net.  

2. Advocate for popular economic policies (e.g., expanding prescription drug price 
negotiation, making the wealthy pay their fair share in taxes, raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour) rather than unpopular economic policies (e.g., student loan forgiveness, electric vehicle subsidies, Medicare for All). 

3. Convince voters that we share their priorities by focusing more on issues voters do not think our party prioritizes highly enough (the economy, the cost of living, health care, border security, public safety), and focusing less on issues voters think we place too 
much emphasis on (climate change, democracy, abortion, identity and cultural issues). 

4. Moderate our positions where our agenda is unpopular, including on issues like immigration, public safety, energy production, and some identity and cultural issues. 

5. Embrace a substantive and rhetorical critique of the outsized political and economic influence of lobbyists, corporations, and the ultra-wealthy, while keeping two considerations in mind: First, voters’ frustrations with the status quo are not the same as a desire for socialism. And second, criticizing the status quo is a complement to advocating for popular policies on the issues that matter most to the American people, not a substitute.

Let me be clear, I do not endorse the policy proposals listed above; I endorse the strategy of focusing on the above policy proposals.  I do not want an expanded safety net, Medicare for all, to raise the minimum wage, nor student loan forgiveness. I do think it is a winning message, however. People like free stuff. I think a focus on more traditional Democratic issues is more likely to make Democrats more likable rather than a focus on climate change, abortion, identity politics and cultural issues. 

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