The Democratic Party's Identity Crisis

The problems run deeper than a single candidate or campaign

In any presidential election, one candidate receives too much personal credit for their victory and the other far too much blame for their defeat. This year, Kamala Harris has largely been spared the recriminations that often follow losing candidates. Biden—whose late exit and dismal job approval rating certainly handicapped Harris—has faced considerable and largely deserved criticism. But whether the party nominated Harris, Biden, or another candidate through an open primary, the fact that the electorate has become much more hostile to the Democratic Party has curiously received far less attention.

For much of the last three decades, Americans had a net positive view of the Democratic Party. Beginning in about 2019, perceptions of the party began to deteriorate. By 2023, the Pew Research Center found that 60 percent of the public had an unfavorable impression of the Democratic Party. That’s a remarkable decline.

This change is also reflected in partisan affiliation. Until very recently…