After Harris' defeat, Democrats ponder lessons learned, party's future

Oakland - The results of the 2024 presidential election have Democrats reflecting on the lessons learned and questioning how the party moves forward. 

Many supporters of Vice President Kamala Harris are still shell-shocked, as they process her defeat. She broke fundraising records and generated incredible momentum seemingly overnight. Still, it wasn't enough. 

"While I concede this election, I do not concede the fight that fueled this campaign," she told the crowd at Howard University on Wednesday. 

Harris delivered an uplifting message as she conceded the race for the White House.

In its aftermath, Democrats are reflecting on its party's leadership and work to be done.

"What I found was as Democrats nationally, we need to do a much better job of communicating with working-class voters. I think there was a lot of concern from working-class voters about the economy. They didn't like the Biden economy," said Democratic Strategist Roger Salazar, President of ALZA Strategies. 

Salazar said Democrats focused too heavily on calling out President-elect Trump's character, flubs, and flaws.

"Working-class voters - they already knew all that about Trump. What they wanted to know is - ‘What are you going to do for me? How are you going to solve my day-to-day problems?'"  

Overall, Black and Latino voters appeared slightly less likely to support Harris than they were to back Biden four years ago, according to AP VoteCast. 

Trump also won among voters without a college degree.

"Why is it that non-college-educated working class voters are moving away from the Democratic Party? And that is about policy, and it's about what Congress does, and it's about what the president does," said St. Mary's College Provost Corey Cook. 

Cook said that he thinks Harris ran a nearly flawless campaign, given the context.

"The challenge is the context, right?" he said. "Frankly, Joe Biden was president for four years and did not deliver for working-class people in the way that would have changed the election outcome."

Top Democrats are already looking at a new generation of younger leaders, including possible presidential contenders like Governor Gavin Newsom and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro.  

In the immediate future - another top concern among Democrats in California is potential punishment from Trump.  For example, he may withhold federal disaster relief funding and lawmakers need to have a backup plan.