Professor Grossman: The election results are encouraging, but I don't think that we can discount the ongoing lure of right-wing messaging. The 2024 movement of Black, Latin, and White males to the GOP (not only Trump) was/is real.
Post-election analysis shows that educated voters are shifting to the Democratic Party, and less-educated voters are shifting to the GOP. Given that there are more less-educated voters, this is a worrying trend (even if voter participation is less).
Your summary of the Klein/Yglesias pov seems a bit unfair; their argument is for the Democratic Party to claim the political center (where the votes are), not to surrender to the far-right. Their charitable depictions of far-right voices reflects the nature of online 'discourse': liberals can't have reasoned discussion with right-wing extremists, so they must hallucinate a more moderate version.
The election results seem to reflect widespread dissatisfaction with the GOP, rather than any particular Democratic Party message. This may be a useful strategy for the upcoming 2026 elections: highlight and denounce GOP excesses, and focus on local issues.
The sooner we can end the attacks on our democracy, the sooner we can begin to rebuild.
Movement in groups of voters from one election to the next is empirically true, but that doesn't tell us why it happened. Did they expect what they're getting now or did they buy into a different picture? Was the move a carefully considered decision, or more of a vibe-driven impulse? Were they primarily voting for or voting against? Etc.
Similar point re: Klein/Yglesias. "Claim the political center" is very standard practice, and few argue against it. I'm certainly not. My point is they're wrong about where the political center is, and wrong about how to claim it.
For example, Yglesias is currently arguing that the reason Democrats lose is their stance on climate change. Do you really think that's what the 2024 election was about? And that Democrats' success in 2025 can be attributed to the party moderating on climate?
Professor Grossman: The election results are encouraging, but I don't think that we can discount the ongoing lure of right-wing messaging. The 2024 movement of Black, Latin, and White males to the GOP (not only Trump) was/is real.
Post-election analysis shows that educated voters are shifting to the Democratic Party, and less-educated voters are shifting to the GOP. Given that there are more less-educated voters, this is a worrying trend (even if voter participation is less).
Your summary of the Klein/Yglesias pov seems a bit unfair; their argument is for the Democratic Party to claim the political center (where the votes are), not to surrender to the far-right. Their charitable depictions of far-right voices reflects the nature of online 'discourse': liberals can't have reasoned discussion with right-wing extremists, so they must hallucinate a more moderate version.
The election results seem to reflect widespread dissatisfaction with the GOP, rather than any particular Democratic Party message. This may be a useful strategy for the upcoming 2026 elections: highlight and denounce GOP excesses, and focus on local issues.
The sooner we can end the attacks on our democracy, the sooner we can begin to rebuild.
Movement in groups of voters from one election to the next is empirically true, but that doesn't tell us why it happened. Did they expect what they're getting now or did they buy into a different picture? Was the move a carefully considered decision, or more of a vibe-driven impulse? Were they primarily voting for or voting against? Etc.
Similar point re: Klein/Yglesias. "Claim the political center" is very standard practice, and few argue against it. I'm certainly not. My point is they're wrong about where the political center is, and wrong about how to claim it.
For example, Yglesias is currently arguing that the reason Democrats lose is their stance on climate change. Do you really think that's what the 2024 election was about? And that Democrats' success in 2025 can be attributed to the party moderating on climate?