While much of the American public generally believes in being kind to transgender people and not discriminating against them, they are also wary of many ideas being pushed by the Left on these issues. For example, most oppose allowing trans women to compete in women’s sport. More than two-thirds — including notably high shares of black and Hispanic Democrats — believe schools should either teach that gender is inseparable from one’s biological sex or not talk about it at all. And clear majorities oppose making gender medicine such as puberty blockers and hormone treatments available to minors. Yet Democrats have shown support for all three things.

At minimum, for the party to broaden its appeal it will need to make room for the voices of others — including even some of its own members — who express reservations about these policies, rather than excoriating or shunning them as heretics or bigots. If the latter continues happening, people may look for an alternative party — which often ends up being the Republicans.

In addition to self-examination over their cultural vulnerabilities, another thing that might help the Democrats rebound from this election is better governance in the cities and states they run. Post-Covid migration trends have painted a damning picture of blue-state governance, as more and more people have fled these places searching for greener pastures in red states. Much of this is no doubt due to the skyrocketing cost of living in Democratic-run cities, especially around housing. But major cities in blue states have also struggled to control problems such as homelessness, rampant drug abuse, crime, and a general sense of disorder.

To fix these problems, the writer Noah Smith has suggested three fixes that Democrats should focus on for producing better results and making their states more attractive places to live. First, they must acknowledge that “anarchy is not a form of welfare,” and that most Americans are not okay with things like sidewalk encampments, fare evasion, and carjackings. Second, they must realise that “costs are bad for the city government,” and that overpaying for services is coming at the expense of using city funds to care for the broader community they serve. And third, “housing is non-negotiable.” Cities are fundamentally places where people live, and if citizens can’t afford to house themselves, that is a policy failure.

Democrats could also revisit Howard Dean’s 50-state strategy. The plan, which Dean employed as chair of the DNC in the 2006 and 2008 cycles, identified candidates from all corners of the country — including deeply conservative areas — whom they could run and fund. Not only did this give them more opportunities to expand the electoral map and pick off some seats that may have been held by Republicans for years, but it also had the added bonus of forcing the party to show up in communities which may have been sceptical of them and work to earn their votes.

So long as people in rural and working-class communities think the Democrats look down on them, they won’t want to have anything to do with the party. But showing up, listening to popular concerns, and treating voters as normal people is a good first step toward changing this image in areas of the country where the party brand today is nothing short of toxic.

These changes will not bear fruit overnight. But if the Democrats want to be competitive in future national elections, they’ll have to understand why their coalition collapsed and how they can work to patch it up again. That starts with some difficult — but necessary — conversations.

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Michael Baharaeen is chief political analyst at The Liberal Patriot substack.

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