I realize diehards think that everyone should automatically choose blue just because, but after the last four years why would you think that?
It was a stretch for Joe Biden to broaden his appeal to ordinary folks in 2020, but he knew how to do retail politics and promised specifics that would put money in people's pockets. Democrats in Congress didn't pass any of it. The benefits package for COVID-19 relief, intended to jumpstart the economy, expired. People saw that as money taken from their pockets. The bits that came later were too little too late. You can scream all you want about how "Joe raised wages," but working folks think they get increased wages by working hard - which is also true (otherwise they'd be fired). The general feeling is that they're no better off after Biden than they were during COVID, other than they can go outside and go to work now. And lots of places went out of business and haven't come back. Infrastructure packages don't get noticed until completion, which won't happen 'til the Trump Administration. Guess who'll take credit? Moreover, and this is a big one for connected/aware voters, Joe didn't cut the head off the MAGA snake. "He got served up a fat fastball and he whiffed," was the way one retired worker put it to me.
Kamala Harris worked hard to make sure that business and finance weren't scared of her "radical" politics, and courted folks like Liz Cheney. She made no specific promises as to how working class folks (especially the working poor) would benefit from her being President. She spent a great deal of time in the company of celebrities. While that may have appealed to Taylor Swift (etc.) fans, it didn't do much for older workers who aren't. Younger workers are beyond annoyed at the wholesale support for Israel in Gaza, but it never comes up talking to older folks. Harris also failed to convince on EXACTLY HOW she was going to "save Roe." She never committed to Supreme Court expansion, for example.
There's also a thing about Harris being a woman. My preliminary investigations indicate (I'm still working on it) that older working class folks, for whatever reason, aren't OK with a woman being President. That works across racial lines and includes men and women I talk with. I have no idea why it's such a big deal, and YES, I am surprised. Here I thought the reason that Hilary lost was because people hate her. That was only part of it. I get the impression that we are a generation away (+/- 20 yrs.) from a woman President.
I can't speak about MAGA voters locally, because if they are any among the folks I've talked with they haven't identified as such. I'm spoken to no one who admits voting for Trump, unsurprising in my city and specific neighborhood. Nationwide though, I think what most voters felt was that their only choice was "voting against." Enough folks in a few critical states voted against the "bums in charge" to tip the balance, barely. Others in those same places, seeing nothing much in either party's propaganda that had anything to do with them, voted for the reality TV show spectacle that is MAGA in all its rudeness. Those same voters will likely vote against the MAGA GOP IF there are midterms in 2026, since they'll be "the bums" then.
Bottom line was very many people really wanted someone to vote FOR. They didn't find anyone, so they didn't vote.
= new reply since forum marked as read