'Democrats Lost Them': Here's Why 2020 Biden Voters Sat Out The 2024 Election (Rolling Stone) [View all]

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https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/why-2020-biden-voters-sat-out-2024-1235318121/

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The focus groups included Biden voters who didn’t vote in 2024 across those four Sunbelt states as well the same voters in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania, with a particular emphasis on groups that constituted the Democrats’ largest losses in 2024: voters of all races and genders under 35, Latino men and women under 65, and Black men under 65.

The data collected in these groups helps dispel some of the misconceptions people have about why those voters stayed home in November. For one thing, they are not politically apathetic — the voters interviewed reported they were engaged with politics, but unhappy with their choices and unconvinced that either candidate could make a positive change in their lives. But they are open to persuasion — one woman shared a story about attending Harris rally, which she left early after Harris failed to address the issues that mattered most to her.

Nonvoters had other gripes with the Harris-Walz campaign too: “A surprisingly common frame was that the campaign ‘wasn’t serious,’ with many citing Harris’ celebrity endorsements and event appearances and framing them negatively.” Voters across groups indicated a belief that Democrats were focused on the “wrong things,” with Black men in particular expressing their feeling “that Dems cared more about immigrants, trans people, and waging war in Ukraine and Gaza than domestic priorities or their daily economic realities.” (Young voters, on the other hand, took issue with Harris’ perceived silence on Gaza, with a majority of voters in that focus group saying her unwillingness to take a stand affected their decision not to vote.)

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There was a note of hope: The same voters who sat out last November have been horrified by what they’ve watched Trump and Elon Musk do since January — and most of the focus group participants reported that they are feeling strongly motivated to vote in 2026. The groups also offer some insight into what kind of leader might be able to draw these voters back to the Democrat party. Hint: That person is more in the mold of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez than Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who infuriated the Democratic base when he helped advance the GOP’s partisan spending bill.

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