Progressives are urging Democrats to pursue a path forward that prioritizes America’s working-class population, the coalition that overwhelmingly rejected their party and supported President-elect Trump for a second term.

Leftists believe moderates have failed to uplift economically marginalized people, deviating from their decades-old mandate and leaving that group open to Republicans’ message.

Failing to keep the White House and Senate and reclaim the House, leaders on the left are emphasizing economic populism as the best way to recapture voters who flocked to Trump and broaden a party that has become increasingly detached from the plight of low-income people.

“Success runs directly through leading with economic issues,” said Pete D'Alessandro, a senior aide to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) during his 2016 presidential campaign.

“This isn't some abstract theory either. It's what Dems do when they win,” D'Alessandro said. “You lead with economic populism and because you win, you can do the other things.”

Trump’s sweeping victory was a wake-up call to Democrats who tried to beat the president-elect by warning that he is authoritarian and will unravel democracy. Instead of giving voters a positive vision, progressives say the tone was fear-based, warning that Trump would lead as a fascist and govern by stripping groups of people of their rights.

That message ultimately tanked at the ballot box. Some key demographics that Democrats have usually relied on shifted toward Trump, who broadened his base to include more Latino and Black voters and young white men than he got in prior elections. Voters cited anxiety around their day-to-day living costs as one of several reasons for their decision.

Grappling now with Republicans’ “trifecta” control of the White House and Congress, progressives are urging centrist Democrats to rethink their electoral strategy, rejecting arguments that the party has moved too far leftward and attempting to focus the dialogue around putting economic hardships like minimum wage stagnation,........

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