21 min

Where have all the Democrats gone? With Ruy Teixeira The Political Conversation

    • Politik

After Obama was elected, Ruy Teixeira and his co-author John B. Judis were hailed as having gotten it right— in their 2002 book "The Emerging Democratic Majority", they accurately predicted the coalition on the rise to carry Democrats to a majority.  Today, the revered political strategist has a different message, or rather, a question: "Where have all the Democrats gone?" Since Obama's second term, the Democrats have rapidly lost white working class voters; in some crucial election states, Biden is under water by 20 points with this crucial demographic. According to Ruy, Democrats embraced "cultural radicalism", making them unpalatable to the median voter. Now, non-white working class voters are also moving away from the Democratic party; especially hispanic working class voters. In our conversation, as in his book, Ruy shares his insight into why this shift has happened, and what comes next. 

After Obama was elected, Ruy Teixeira and his co-author John B. Judis were hailed as having gotten it right— in their 2002 book "The Emerging Democratic Majority", they accurately predicted the coalition on the rise to carry Democrats to a majority.  Today, the revered political strategist has a different message, or rather, a question: "Where have all the Democrats gone?" Since Obama's second term, the Democrats have rapidly lost white working class voters; in some crucial election states, Biden is under water by 20 points with this crucial demographic. According to Ruy, Democrats embraced "cultural radicalism", making them unpalatable to the median voter. Now, non-white working class voters are also moving away from the Democratic party; especially hispanic working class voters. In our conversation, as in his book, Ruy shares his insight into why this shift has happened, and what comes next. 

21 min