NewDem Action Fund partnered with majority-making coalition to conduct first-of-its-kind retrospective on 2020 cycle
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 7, 2021
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today the New Democrat Coalition Action Fund released the findings of the first holistic and comprehensive retrospective on the 2020 election cycle. Following the disappointment of the 2020 House election results, NewDems have been laser-focused on understanding what happened and making sure they are equipped to hold the Democratic majority heading into the 2022 election. The NewDem Action Fund partnered and worked closely with the authors Lynda Tran and Marlon Marshall as well as project sponsors Third Way, The Collective PAC, and Latino Victory, and consulted throughout the process with Members and staff from CBCPAC, CHC BOLD PAC, and ASPIRE PAC to provide input into this 2020 retrospective. The analysis identified key tactical errors made by Democrats in the 2020 election cycle and laid out a clear vision for the reforms required to hold the Democratic majority in 2022.
“In order to hold and expand the Democratic majority in 2022, we need a clear-eyed and data-driven assessment of the 2020 election cycle—where to build up and what we need to improve on,” said New Democrat Coalition Action Fund Chair Congressman Brad Schneider. “This retrospective puts the NewDems on track to protect our majority-making members and add to our caucus by focusing the party on a robust economic message that will resonate with voters anxious to put the pandemic behind us. NewDems have a playbook. We will use it. And we intend to win.”
Key findings of the retrospective include:
Democrats need to persuade voters of color in order to flip competitive seats in 2022: To win in 2022, Democrats must stop treating communities of color as monolithic “GOTV targets” and start connecting on an economic message.
Year-round organizing works: consistent relationship-building through year-round organizing makes a difference, especially in communities of color.
Democrats must both respond to and inoculate themselves against the baseless “potpourri” of Republican attacks related to “radical socialists” and “Defund the Police,” which worked to persuade voters of color, particularly Latino voters and in districts with immigrant populations that fled socialist governments, including among Venezuelan, Cuban, Vietnamese, and Filipino voters.
Drop-off in support among Latino and Hispanic voters were the lynchpin in Democratic losses in Florida, Texas, and New Mexico, including FL-26, where Democratic support among Latino voters dropped 12 points from 2016 to 2020.
Though none of the campaigns or candidates included in this retrospective supported defunding the police, nearly all were targeted with paid ads claiming they did.
The tough truth on polling: Democrats’ interpretation of and dependence on traditional polling led to ineffective messaging and an overreach in potentially unwinnable districts.
Democrats missed the opportunity to talk about COVID-19 through an economic lens.
COVID-19 restrictions hurt Democratic field operations, even if it was the right thing to do to protect public health. Democrats have an A+ ground-game that they need to safely re-deploy going in 2022.
Made up of 95 Democrats, NewDems advocate within the Democratic Party and Congress for new ideas and new approaches to move America forward. The New Democrat Coalition is the largest ideological caucus amongst House Democrats and represents more than forty percent of House Democrats. Formed by Members of the New Democrat Coalition, the NewDem Action Fund helps re-elect House NewDems and elect new, like-minded leaders who can help develop a positive policy agenda and message.