Stagwell CEO Mark Penn and Veterans on Duty chairman Jeremy Hunt react to Democratic opposition for the upcoming Trump administration’s policies, appearing on Fox News’ ‘The Faulkner Focus.’

The blue wall broke. Every swing state went red. And the entire country, barring a few exceptions, shifted rightward. In Minnesota, where I’m serving my seventh term as the state leader of our Democratic Party, we managed to buck the trend and hold our ground yet again.

But since the election, part of my mind has been focused on another state – Missouri.

On Election Day, voters across Missouri passed ballot measures to guarantee paid sick leave for workers, protect reproductive rights and raise the state minimum wage. These are policy ideas straight out of the Democratic agenda – and yet, in the same election, Missouri Republicans again swept all statewide races by wide margins.

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What should we make of this?

People at a election night watch party react after an abortion rights amendment to the Missouri constitution passed on Nov. 5, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

To me, it’s a stark example of the central lesson for Democrats this year: our policies are popular, good for working-class families and winners on paper. But too many voters don’t connect our ideas to our party – a party........

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