Road Map to a Blue Georgia

In the last few months, Democrats have been forced to do a lot of soul searching. The 2024 election cycle was one of the most dramatic and tumultuous in this country’s history, from President Joe Biden dropping out of the race and supporting Vice President Kamala Harris to President-elect Donald Trump making a shocking comeback after so many wrote him off following his loss in 2020. It was an exceptional year that saw Republicans regain control of the White House and both chambers of Congress, for the first time since 2019, on a platform messaged to the working class but, in reality, designed to benefit the wealthy more than anyone else.

Given how divisive Trump’s rhetoric and actions have been perceived by many, Democrats have either been scratching their heads or pointing their fingers to figure out what went wrong. As we continue to unpack these losses, now is the time to step back and ask ourselves – where do Democrats go from here? That question is especially important in Georgia where, in just two short years, we will have an open governor’s race and a U.S. Senate seat to defend.

As a longtime Democratic operative who has been working in Georgia for more than two decades, I would like to offer a simple roadmap to making Georgia blue again in 2026 – the five Ls.

The first L is to accept our loss. I’ve heard blame directed at a wide range of groups, including white men, young men, Hispanics and white women. The Democratic Party did experience a decline in support across those demographics in the last election, but the responsibility doesn’t lie solely with them – it’s also on us. In many cases, we either forgot how to connect with those groups in a meaningful way or didn’t make the effort at all.

That brings me to the second L – listen. Democrats should spend the next year listening to voters across the state about what they believe, what they need and what’s important to them. We cannot run a top-down campaign and expect people to follow us. Democratic ideals – from a thriving middle class to a strong safety net to equity and inclusion – are all popular among voters, but we need to live those ideals in a way that connects with the average voter.

Building that connection will lead us to the third L – learn. If we persist with business as usual, running campaigns the same way we did in the last three national elections, we will lose. To succeed, we must be willing to adapt our approach based on the feedback we receive from the electorate.

That will require us to look within, which is the fourth L. What does our party really stand for? Who are we? What do we represent? Is our tent big enough to accommodate everyone based on our actions today? Soul searching is difficult, and it will require us being willing to admit that we have made some mistakes along the way. More than ever, voters are looking for authenticity and there’s nothing wrong with admitting, “We were wrong.”

Finally, we must lead – the last L. It’s a proven fact that the economy performs better under Democratic leadership: More jobs are created, women’s rights are safeguarded, and the middle class experiences faster growth, to name just a few examples. While Republicans have excelled at messaging on the economy, their actual policies overwhelmingly favor the wealthy, often at the expense of workers.

For nearly a decade, many Democrats have seemed content to position themselves as the anti-Trump party rather than championing a clear, proactive vision. While Harris outlined strong policies and ideas in her campaign, that’s not what many voters perceived. And despite President Biden’s historic achievements – engineering an unprecedented soft landing for the economy after the chaos of the COVID-19 pandemic, overseeing record-breaking stock market performance and driving generational investments in infrastructure, energy and manufacturing – Democrats still faced decisive defeats at the ballot box.

Many middle-class families are struggling and felt unheard by Democrats about the solutions being developed and what lies ahead. To win back the voters we’ve lost, we must acknowledge our loss, listen, learn, look within and lead. We are the party of the people – all people – and it’s time for us to fully embody that mission. 

Tharon Johnson can be seen Sunday mornings on The Georgia Gang on Fox 5 Atlanta. He received a Green Eyeshade award in journalism in 2023.