Over the last four months or so, American voters polled by I&I/TIPP repeatedly expressed their deep dissatisfaction with how the Democratic Party forced out candidate President Joe Biden, who won 15 million primary votes, and replaced him with Vice President Kamala Harris, who won none. With the election’s end, voters are still upset, I&I/TIPP Poll show post-election data show.
This “buyers’ remorse,” as it was called earlier, appears to be a big reason why Harris received millions fewer votes that President Biden won in 2020, a mere four years ago. It also helps explain the big shift in votes from previously Democrat-only voters: Blacks, Hispanics, the young.
As noted earlier, the poll asked voters whether they agreed or disagreed with the following three questions:
- “The process the Democratic Party used to select its nominee for President did not yield the strongest candidate.”
- “The process the Democratic Party used to select Kamala Harris as its nominee was undemocratic.”
- “I lost significant faith in the Democratic Party because it did not disclose Biden’s health issues during the primary process.”
The first question tells the tale: Overall, 61% of all voters said they either agreed “strongly” (39%) or “somewhat” (22%). Another 14% said they were not sure. That, by the way, is even larger than the 58% who agreed in the last poll taken in October.
It should be no great shock that those in the Republican and independent/third party camp would strongly agree that Kamala Harris wasn’t the strongest candidate with whom to replace Biden.
Among Republicans, 76% agreed while only 12% disagreed. Independents weren’t too far away from the GOP at 68% agreeing, and 19% disagreeing. But even 45% of Democrats agreed, compared to 47% who disagreed. The share of Democrats agreeing rose five percentage points from last month, a rise no doubt the result of Dems surveilling the wreckage of Harris’ misbegotten campaign.
But what about the second question? That is, whether the Democratic Party’s “process” for picking Harris as the candidate was “undemocratic”?
Among all voters, 49% agreed either “strongly” (32%) or “somewhat” (17%), while 34% disagreed either strongly (22%) or somewhat (12%), with a sizable 17% not sure.
As often is the case, Democrats seem to inhabit a different political world from that of the GOP and indie voters.
While roughly half of all voters called Harris’ irregular selection as the candidate “undemocratic,” among Democrats 32% agreed.
While that’s less, it still says something significant: A third of all Democratic voters did not believe that the selection of Harris was done democratically, while 58% disagreed.
By comparison, 70% of Republicans agreed and 15% disagreed. For independent and third-party voters, 49% agreed and 33% disagreed.
In the final question, asking whether voters had “lost significant faith” in the Democratic Party as a result of its somewhat-questionable failure to disclose President Biden’s failing mental health, an overall 57% agreed either strongly (34%) or somewhat (23%). Just 32% disagreed, either strongly (19%) or somewhat (13%).
Once again, the breakdown was politically predictable. Within the Dems’ domain, 36% agreed while 55% disagreed. That compares to 79% agree and 13% disagree for Republicans, and 61% and 28% for independents.
What to make of all this?
If anything, post-election voters within the Democratic Party show even greater dissatisfaction and “buyer’s remorse” after the election results than before. As we noted above, this might in part explain the sharp decline in Democratic enthusiasm for Harris in the waning days of her run, even after her campaign spent a record $1 billion-plus on this election.
But it also speaks to profound issues within the Democratic Party itself, which now appears to be in a doom-loop of election-loss recrimination, rather than constructive self-examination over the reasons for their losses, not just in the presidential election but for Congress as well.
As historian and Hoover Institution Fellow Victor Davis Hanson summed up:
“There were plenty of indications long ago in key states of a Donald Trump thunderstorm: defections of minorities, anger among both the Jewish and Muslim voters, alienated union members, massive increases in Republican registrations, and non-Election Day balloting.”
In short, Trump was elected not just by Republicans, but by disaffected Democrats who were angry at their party’s undemocratic selection process and with the unknown quantity of Kamala Harris herself.
She flip-flopped so much on major issues – including gun control, oil and natural gas fracking, single-payer healthcare, expanding the Supreme Court, federal job guarantees, and police funding and criminal prosecution, to name just a handful – voters had no idea where she stood.
Worse, she alienated Democrats’ base voters, as Hanson noted in a scathing post-election breakdown of the vote, who were hurting from the last four years of lockdowns, inflation and declining real wages:
“Democrats know —but will do nothing about the fact—they have become the party of the upscale professionals and the rich and the subsidized poor,” Hanson wrote. “They have alienated the entire middle class — white, black, Hispanic — and are ceding it to the new Republican populist-nationalist party.”
This showed up in Trump’s sweeping the seven all-important “swing states,” where Democrats have often taken home the electoral prize and won presidencies. In losing those states, Kamala Harris didn’t lose the election; she lost the support of her own party.
If you’re an official of the Democratic Party, the electoral data are damning. Trump made significant gains among African-American voters, Hispanics, women, and young voters, while holding on to his strong support among white men.
“Widespread gains for President-elect Donald Trump helped him carry a number of key swing states that decided the 2024 race,” wrote NPR, in its post-election analysis.
“In Georgia, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin – places President Biden won in 2020 that flipped back to Trump this year – turnout data from the Associated Press shows a marked shift to the right in nearly every county in each state. Victories in these three states put Trump over the needed electoral vote threshold to win the White House.”
The remorse Democrats showed in recent I&I/TIPP data over how their own party hid Biden’s mental issues and used undemocratic means to replace him with Vice President Kamala Harris, a weak candidate, pointed to Trump’s winning result.
One thing is clear, as media outlets from both sides of the political spectrum have observed, the Democrats’ big mistakes and Trump’s stunning 2024 triumph appear to mark a major political realignment, one that could influence elections for years to come.
I&I/TIPP publishes timely, unique, and informative data each month on topics of public interest. TIPP’s reputation for polling excellence comes from being the most accurate pollster for the past five presidential elections.
Terry Jones is an editor of Issues & Insights. His four decades of journalism experience include serving as national issues editor, economics editor, and editorial page editor for Investor’s Business Daily.
TIPP Takes
Geopolitics, Geoeconomics, And More
1. Israeli Strike Near Damascus Kills Three: War Monitor – AFP
“An Israeli air strike killed three people in the Sayyida Zeinab area,” Rami Abdel Rahman, who heads the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, told AFP.
“The Israeli attack targeted [Hezbollah] figures in the building,” said the monitor which has a network of sources inside Syria. Since Syria’s civil war broke out in 2011, Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria, mainly targeting army positions and fighters including from Hezbollah.
2. France Mulling New Sanctions On Israeli Settlers, Minister Says In West Bank – AFP
France is mulling new sanctions on those enabling the expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, regarded as illegal under international law, Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on a visit to the territory.
Barrot renewed France’s commitment to a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and warned settlement activities “threaten the political perspective that can ensure durable peace for Israel and Palestine.”
3. Moscow Targeted As Ukraine And Russia Trade Huge Drone Attacks – BBC
Russia and Ukraine have carried out their largest drone attacks against each other since the start of the war.
Russia’s defense ministry said it intercepted 84 Ukrainian drones over six regions, including some approaching Moscow, which forced flights to be diverted from three of the capital’s major airports. Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 145 drones towards every part of the country on Saturday night, with most shot down.
4. Russia’s Putin Finalizes North Korea Defense Deal – AFP
Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed off on a landmark defense pact with North Korea. This deal comes amid reports that Pyongyang has dispatched thousands of troops to fight against Ukraine.
Putin struck the deal during a June visit to North Korea, but it had to pass through Russia’s parliament and be signed by the Kremlin leader to come into force. On Saturday evening, the Kremlin published the signed law ratifying the treaty on its website.
5. Putin Offers African Countries Russia’s ‘Total Support’ – BBC
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov read out the speech of Russian President Vladimir Putin to his African counterparts at a summit in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.
Several African governments have cut ties with traditional Western allies and are looking to Moscow for help in tackling frequent attacks by jihadists.
6. China Reasserts South China Sea Sovereignty Amid Philippine Boundary Laws – Al Jazeera
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed two laws on Friday to define the country’s maritime entitlements and establish designated sea lanes and air routes to “reinforce sovereignty.”
On Sunday, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it “firmly opposes this and will continue to take all necessary measures under the law to resolutely defend the country’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests.”
7. Migrants Crossing The Darien Hear Of Donald Trump’s Victory And Pick Up The Pace – A.P.
“We’re trying to arrive as soon as possible, before January, to see if we have a chance with CBP One,” said a 34-year-old pastry chef traveling from Venezuela to reach the United States.
He was referring to the U.S. government’s online portal that allows migrants to seek an appointment to request asylum at the border. Trump has said he will end CBP One.
8. UN Nuclear Watchdog Chief To Visit Iran On November 13 – Reuters
State media reported that Rafael Grossi will visit Iran and start consultations with Iranian officials.
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said last week that he might head to Iran in the coming days to discuss its disputed nuclear program and that he expected to work cooperatively with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.
9. Saudi Armed Forces General Travels to Iran In Rare High-Level Visit – RFE/RL
The general chief of staff of Saudi Arabia’s armed forces, Fayyad Al-Ruwaili, met his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Baqeri, in Tehran.
Ruwaili is only the second high-profile Saudi official to travel to Tehran since Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed to restore diplomatic relations after seven years following Chinese-brokered talks in March 2023. Previously, Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan visited Iran in June 2023.
10. Trump, Scholz Discuss ‘Return To Peace In Europe’ – Al Jazeera
United States President-elect Donald Trump and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz have agreed to work for “a return to peace in Europe” in their first call since the U.S. election, a German government spokesman has said.
“Both exchanged views on the German-American relationship and the current geopolitical challenges,” Scholz’s spokesperson, Steffen Hebestreit, said. Trump’s return to the White House is being closely watched in Europe for how it might affect Russia’s war in Ukraine.
11. Argentina’s Milei To Meet With Trump, Musk Next Week In The U.S. – Reuters
Argentina’s libertarian President Javier Milei will meet with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago, the incoming U.S. leader’s private South Florida club, according to a government spokesperson.
The source said Milei will also meet with billionaire Elon Musk, the Tesla CEO and owner of social media platform X, who is also a major Trump supporter.
12. Earthquake Rocks Cuba As Residents Struggle To Recover From Recent Storms – Al Jazeera
A powerful magnitude 6.8 earthquake has hit eastern Cuba, adding more problems to a country still reeling from recent storms and blackouts.
People in affected provinces have said the earthquake was one of the most powerful they have felt – no small feat in an area that has experienced 23 earthquakes of magnitude five and above in the last 50 years. In October, Hurricane Oscar and Hurricane Rafael brought heavy rains and widespread power outages, affecting at least 10 million people.
13. Women, Men Face Different Heart Risks While On Dialysis – HealthDay News
Women have a higher risk of heart failure and stroke than men while undergoing dialysis for kidney failure, a new study shows. However, women also have a lower overall risk of dying than men, researchers found.
Estrogen might play a role in women’s higher overall risk of heart problems, researchers said. The protective effects from the female hormone decline among women undergoing dialysis, lead researcher Dr. Silvi Shah said. For example, they typically enter menopause years earlier than women without kidney problems.
14. FDA Says Commonly Used Decongestant ‘Not Effective,’ Proposes Removal – UPI Health
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has determined that commonly used oral phenylephrine is “not effective” and has proposed removing it from over-the-counter nasal decongestants.
A Nonprescription Drug Advisory Committee last fall discussed the status of oral phenylephrine as a nasal decongestant unanimously agreed new scientific data on its use does not support oral phenylephrine’s effectiveness. The FDA says its proposed order is based on concerns regarding phenylephrine’s effectiveness and has no safety concerns regarding its use.
Republished with permission from TIPP Insights
