NewDEAL Leaders Resilient During Post-Election Conference

WASHINGTON — Post-election day may have seemed like the worst time to hold a gathering of progressive state and local leaders in the nation’s capital.

After all, if one were to go strictly by MSNBC or other left-leaning media outlets of one’s choice, if you’re a Democrat of any sort right now, your hair is on fire.

But that was far from the vibe in evidence at the recent NewDEAL leaders conference at Eaton Hotel here in Washington, D.C.

Over the course of the two-day event, members of the selective national network of local leaders wore genuine smiles and resilience on their sleeves as they listened to a succession of speakers give their take on why President-elect Donald Trump is headed back to the White House and how they’ll navigate the next four years.

“I think the overarching feeling here is that people are still processing the election, still trying to figure out what happened, and then, what to do about it,” said Debbie Cox Bultan, chief executive officer of the NewDEAL.

“I think as opposed to being back home at a time like this, our members have appreciated the opportunity to come together and have good, constructive conversations about where we go from here,” she said.

The other reason for the buoyancy of the gathering, Cox Bultan quickly pointed out, is that NewDEALers actually did quite well on Election Day, far outperforming the top of the Democratic ticket in many communities across the U.S.

“We’ve talked a lot over the course of this conference about people like Josh Stein, in North Carolina, and Matt Meyer, in Delaware, two NewDEALers who were just elected governor of their respective states; Angela Alsobrooks, of Maryland, and Ruben Gallego, of Arizona, two members who have been elected to the U.S. Senate,” she said.

“And then we had five of our own elected to the House, and our NewDEALers who were up for reelection further down the ticket enjoyed a 100% success rate,” she continued. “So I think there’s reason to be hopeful about Democrats going forward.

“There are people within this network who have solutions and an answer to the question of how we can do better in regard to the national ticket,” she said.

Far from feeling hopeless in the face of Republicans scoring a federal trifecta, winning the White House, Senate and House of Representatives, at table after table, NewDEALer after NewDEALer reaffirmed the notion that “we can figure this out.”

“That’s another reason I think the timing of our gathering couldn’t have been better,” Cox Bultan said. “People feel reminded that they’re not alone in this and that together, we will be able to chart a path forward that stays true to our values and acknowledge that as a party, we need to make adjustments in those areas where we didn’t do well.”

Alex Bores, a New York State Assembly member whose district encompasses the Murray Hill, Turtle Bay, Sutton Place, and Midtown East neighborhoods of New York City, as well as its Upper East Side, was among those trying to assess the election results from a pragmatic perspective.

“We got all the funeral vibes out before you got here,” he joked with a reporter as he prepared to sit down for a buffet lunch.

“But seriously, I think the work continues, right? No one here is happy with what happened two weeks ago, but sitting around and moping about it isn’t going to change anything,” Bores said.

“The thing about this election is it never should have even been close,” he continued. “I mean, when you let a race get as close as this one did, it can easily go the other way — and it did. So I think we really have to take a hard look at the message we’re communicating to the voters.”

Bores said one thing Democrats need to do in the near-term is refute Republican assertions that the election was a “mandate” for their candidates and ideas.

“This was the narrowest loss of any incumbent party anywhere in the world in the past two years,” he said. “Trump won with just 49.9% of the popular vote, compared to Vice President Harris’s 48.3%.

“So it’s no mandate. In fact, it’s the opposite. So claiming it is one is a ridiculous statement,” he added,

Going forward Bores said he believes the Democrats are “going to come back because we’re going to be actually focusing on solutions that people need.

“When people are frustrated with the government and they don’t think it can do anything, then you can vote for an entertainer. But there are real problems in America, and people need real solutions. And we’re going to keep talking about what those solutions are,” he said. 

“We’re going to talk about the need for more housing, so that people can move to where they want, so that they can see their grandkids grow up, so they can, you know, be in the places they want to be,” he continued.

“We’re going to talk about how Americans got a lot safer during the Biden-Harris administration. Crime was going up during Trump, and down under Biden-Harris. And we’re going to keep delivering for people — with maybe more of a focus on the state and local level, because that’s where we have the power. But I think you’ll see a deep contrast between state and local leaders continuing to deliver and what I would expect to be chaos here on the federal level.

“I mean, look at all these cabinet picks that he’s announced — it’s not a government, it’s a reality show,” Bores said.

A few tables away was New Hampshire State Sen. Rebecca Perkins Kwoka who, following the election, was unanimously elected the chamber’s next Senate Democratic leader.

“I think one of the things that we heard a lot this morning was that there are a lot of things Democrats are doing right,” she said. 

“At the same time, I think there was also a general agreement that there are things that we need to be better at. One of these things is that we have to be better listeners. And we have to be better at bringing forth solutions that impact people’s everyday lives,” she said.

To illustrate what she meant, Perkins Kowka pointed to her own family.

“I have three little guests that are ages five, three and one,” she said. “We get up every day, we get our kids to school, we go to work and we just try to do the best we can. And I think daily life is hard for people right now. And I think that’s what we saw reflected by the outcome of this election.”

Given the NewDEAL’s collective success in the election, it seemed natural to assume the members of the group had some kind of unified message that resonated with voters.

But Perkins Kowka said such an assumption would be wrong.

“I don’t think there is one unified message that comes out of here, other than that it’s our job to get things done, to solve these problems for people,” she said.

“I mean, that’s why we are running for local and state offices, because we want to provide solutions,” she continued. “We want to actually see these things improve. 

“And if you’re focused on that, you know that people know that you’re working for them, that the government is engaged in an honest business, and that creates a sense of loyalty between the voter and their elected official,” she said.

As the conversation continued Perkins Kowka suggested that there’s a big difference between candidates who have done the work for their constituents, and those who engaged more in what she labeled “culture messaging.”

“I think that’s what sets our candidates apart,” she said. “As local elected officials, we’re closer to the people. People know us and we know them. We’re actual human beings to them, and as a result, we tend to defy the negative messaging that’s thrown at us.”

Talk then turned specifically to the election and why the Democrats as a whole simply didn’t do better.

“I think the reason we saw a vote for change is because people felt they needed it,” she said. “People really are feeling the stress and the pain associated with some of the structural issues we’re having as an economy.

“Just look at housing, she continued. “Housing costs have gone up 3,100% while wages have gone up 20% … that’s a problem that needs a policy solution.”

Asked whether she’s concerned about all the talk about cost cutting by the incoming administration and what that might mean in terms of funding and grants for local government, Perkins Kowka admitted she is.

“I’m very worried about being able to get things done,” she said. “I mean, so much depends on what the next Trump administration is really like.

“If we see a plan that comes out of Washington — even if it’s a plan I disagree with, I can still work with that,” she continued. “If we see something more akin to a chaotic playbook — a plan that looks a little bit more like the nominations being put forth, nominations that create a lot of attention, but are then withdrawn, then we are not going to get anywhere.

“We are looking to Washington to be a stable partner. If there are improvements they can make, they’re welcome to do that; but if they’re just going to undermine a lot of good work that’s been done over the last four years, I don’t think that’s helping the American people.”

Cox Bultan said in order to facilitate moving on from the election, the NewDEAL spoke to members from around the country, gathering their opinions on what they thought happened this past election day.

Those observations were then redistributed to members in the form of a post-election action report.

“One of the questions we asked was, ‘What went right?’” Cox Bultan said. “And one of the things we heard consistently was that success boiled down to our candidates having a connection to folks in their communities.

“It was about being more in tune with the issues that matter most to them, particularly around the issue of affordability. And I think that’s an area where clearly there was a disconnect at the top,” she said. 

“Now, I don’t know whether it was a case of our saying the right things and it just wasn’t being heard, or whether we weren’t saying the right things often enough, but for whatever reason, voters were just not feeling that the top of the ticket was addressing those concerns.

“Local leaders, on the other hand, were able to really focus in on those issues and build bigger coalitions — even including people who didn’t agree with them on much else,” Cox Bultan continued. 

“The other thing we heard over and over again was that it was very hard for opponents to make a caricature out of, or have disinformation stick about, someone voters felt they knew,” she said.

“People would hear some negative accusation thrown at their local official and simply shrug it off, you know? They’d say things like, ‘Well, that doesn’t ring true to me … they’re my neighbor; I see them all the time in the grocery store.’

“So when you look at some of the accusations that were tossed about this election cycle, things that claimed people were looking out for something other than their constituents and so on, it’s harder for those things to stick when voters feel they know someone. And one thing we’ve got to figure out is how to translate that up to the top of the ticket,” she said.

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