The 2024 election was a disaster for Democrats. And with midterms around the corner and the 2028 presidential election looming ahead, the Democratic Party has a lot of work to do.

But what, exactly, went wrong in 2024? And will the Democrats be able to successfully sway not just independents, but former Trump voters?

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To get to the bottom of these questions, The Bulwark co-founder Sarah Longwell has conducted hundreds of focus groups across the United States and now provides key insights from those sessions in her best-selling new book, How to Eat An Elephant: One Voter at a Time.

Reflecting on the failure of the Harris campaign in 2024, she tells Mehdi, “People who were more centrist thought she was too progressive, and people who were more progressive thought she was too centrist. She was ill-defined and she didn’t come out and define herself.”

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But as a former Republican operative turned Never-Trumper, how much weight should the Democratic Party put into Longwell’s strategic advice? In this interview, Mehdi presents much of the left’s criticisms to Longwell and presses her on:

If she and other former Republicans want to push the Democratic Party to the right
Whether Kamala Harris listened too much to The Bulwark and its centrist messaging during her 2024 campaign
Why she believes Liz Cheney campaigning with Kamala Harris is defensible while Democratic candidates campaigning with Hasan Piker isn’t
Whether she understands why some on the left are suspicious of her and Never-Trump colleagues
If she agrees that the Republican Party she was previously a part of played a role in creating Trump and MAGA
Whether she prefers House Democrats prioritizing the investigation of Trump administration officials or the impeachment of Trump himself if they take control of Congress
What it was like working for the notorious right-wing lobbyist nicknamed ‘Dr. Evil’ and whether she has any regrets.
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Watch the full interview above to also find out why Trump voters are finally ditching him and what Democrats can actually do to gain their votes.

Paid subscribers can watch the 55-minute conversation in full, while free subscribers can access a four-minute preview. Consider upgrading your subscription to never hit a Zeteo paywall again!

And be sure to check out Longwell’s latest book, How to Eat An Elephant: One Voter at a Time. If you’ve already read it, feel free to share your review of the book in the comments below!

Looking for more book recommendations? Visit the Zeteo book club here for inspiration!

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