{"id":1077339,"date":"2021-12-02T16:14:49","date_gmt":"2021-12-02T21:14:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1077339"},"modified":"2021-12-02T16:14:51","modified_gmt":"2021-12-02T21:14:51","slug":"left-leaning-pollster-democrats-we-have-a-problem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/left-leaning-pollster-democrats-we-have-a-problem\/","title":{"rendered":"Left-Leaning Pollster: Democrats, We Have A Problem"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">14<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fleft-leaning-pollster-democrats-we-have-a-problem%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1077339&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>After Governor-elect Glenn Youngkin capped off an upset victory over Democratic candidate Terry McAuliffe in Virginia\u2019s gubernatorial race last month, left-leaning pollster Brian Stryker decided to get to the bottom of why the Democratic party failed so miserably across the board in Virginia.<\/p>\n<p>Stryker and his colleague Oren Savir conducted focus groups among \u201csuburban [Northern Virginia] and Richmond Voters\u201d to understand why they voted for the GOP candidate.<\/p>\n<p>As a result, the pair released a memo that found the Democratic party is in big trouble across the board on nearly every issue and messaging tactic.<\/p>\n<p>Stryker sat down with The New York Times to discuss his <a href=\"https:\/\/\/Users\/timothymeads\/Downloads\/Qualitative-Research-Findings-%E2%80%93-Virginia-Post-Election-Research.pdf\">memo<\/a> and gave some insight into what he thinks the party needs to do going forward.<\/p>\n<p>When asked by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/12\/02\/us\/politics\/midterm-election-polls.html?smtyp=cur&amp;smid=tw-nytimes\">The New York Times<\/a> what he would say to a Democratic client running in 2022, Stryker responded, \u201cI would tell them that we have a problem. We\u2019ve got a national branding problem that is probably deeper than a lot of people suspect. Our party thinks maybe some things we\u2019re saying aren\u2019t cutting through, but I think it\u2019s much deeper than that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>To that extent, Stryker\u2019s memo found that nationally the Democratic Party had four big issues stemming from their messaging woes:<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\"><em>1. Our weak national brand left us vulnerable.&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n[\u2026]\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\"><em>2. Voters are unhappy with the direction of the country and don\u2019t think we get it.&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n[\u2026]\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\"><em>3. Voters believe the economy is bad, and no amount of stats can change their mind (at least in the short term).<\/em><\/p>\n[\u2026]\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\"><em> 4. Voters think we are focused on social issues, not the economy.&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Stryker\u2019s interview with The New York Times contained some amusing tidbits. For example, Striker said that voters don\u2019t have the capacity to remember the good that Democrats have done, like the last $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan passed in March:<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\"><em>Interviewer: I want to cite a few things from your memo that struck me, one of which was that the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, which became law in March, may as well not exist.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\"><em>Stryker: Voters don\u2019t remember things. They have short attention spans<strong>.<\/strong> One bright spot, though: If we have an economy that voters feel like is starting to pick up, being able to point back and remind them, \u201cHey I did XYZ, and that really got things rolling.\u201d&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Likewise, Stryker also contradicted himself and \u2014 perhaps because he is a Democrat \u2014 failed to make the connection between President Joe Biden\u2019s policies, like the American Rescue Plan, and soaring inflation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\">The New York Times asked, \u201cSo you think Democrats next year should spend the bulk of their time trumpeting their legislative accomplishments from this year?<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\">Stryker responded, \u201cWe should spend 2022 talking about things we\u2019ve done to lower costs for working families and to get people back to work. Some of those things may be in a piece of legislation; others are things the White House did. Some are constituent services.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>What have they done? Stryker did not expound on that.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\">When The New York Times seemed surprised that voters did not believe Democrats were doing anything to address the issue, Stryker said \u201c[Voters] just see costs going up and don\u2019t feel like there\u2019s any progress being made yet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Of course, if the policies enacted by Democrats have failed to stop prices from rising, then how would leftist candidates run positively on the things they\u2019ve done to lower costs in 2022?<\/p>\n<p>Stryker again did not really get into specifics, but he did acknowledge that Americans have a careful eye on the price of everyday goods:<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\"><em>Interviewer: How much of [the feeling that progress isn\u2019t being made] driven by the day-to-day lived experiences of people?<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-axufdj evys1bk0\"><em>Stryker: A ton of it. They drive by the pump. They know what the cost of a pound of ground beef is supposed to be, or boneless skinless chicken breast. Those are the things they talk about, meat and groceries \u2014 those are the things they really see.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Stryker\u2019s memo was also confusing on that point of the economy.<\/p>\n<p>He pointed out that voters are not motivated by being told the economy is getting better because they look around and see disastrous signs everywhere they turn:<\/p>\n<p><em>Jobs numbers, wage numbers, and the number of people we\u2019ve put back to work don\u2019t move them. We should still talk about these (more the wage and back-to-work numbers), but we should realize that they will have limited impact when people are seeing help wanted signs all over main street, restaurant sections closed for lack of workers, rising prices, and supply disruptions. Even where things are getting better, Biden doesn\u2019t get credit.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>One might point out to Mr. Stryker that perhaps Biden does not get any credit because the successful economies are found in red states like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/bidens-chief-of-staff-claims-stronger-covid-measures-help-economy\">Florida<\/a>, not Democratic states.<\/p>\n<p>Stryker also says that he was surprised education played such a role in the Virginia election but that Covid-19 policies and school closures were a bigger factor<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After Governor-elect Glenn Youngkin capped off an upset victory over Democratic candidate Terry McAuliffe in Virginia\u2019s gubernatorial race last month, left-leaning pollster Brian Stryker decided to get to the bottom of why the Democratic party failed so miserably across the board in Virginia.Stryker and his colleague Oren Savir conducted focus groups among \u201csuburban [Northern Virginia] and Richmond Voters\u201d to understand why they voted for the GOP candidate.As a result, the pair released a memo that found the Democratic party is in big trouble across the board on nearly every issue and messaging tactic.Stryker sat down with The New York Times to discuss his memo and gave some insight into what he thinks the party needs to do going forward.When asked by The New York Times what he would say to a Democratic client running in 2022, Stryker responded, \u201cI would tell them that we have a problem. We\u2019ve got a national branding problem that is probably deeper than a lot of people suspect. Our party thinks maybe some things we\u2019re saying aren\u2019t cutting through, but I think it\u2019s much deeper than that.\u201dTo that extent, Stryker\u2019s memo found that nationally the Democratic Party had four big issues stemming from their messaging woes:1. Our weak national brand left us vulnerable.\u00a0[\u2026]2. Voters are unhappy with the direction of the country and don\u2019t think we get it.\u00a0[\u2026]3. Voters believe the economy is bad, and no amount of stats can change their mind (at least in the short term).[\u2026] 4. Voters think we are focused on social issues, not the economy.\u00a0Stryker\u2019s interview with The New York Times contained some amusing tidbits. For example, Striker said that voters don\u2019t have the capacity to remember the good that Democrats have done, like the last $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan passed in March:Interviewer: I want to cite a few things from your memo that struck me, one of which was that the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, which became law in March, may as well not exist.Stryker: Voters don\u2019t remember things. They have short attention spans. One bright spot, though: If we have an economy that voters feel like is starting to pick up, being able to point back and remind them, \u201cHey I did XYZ, and that really got things rolling.\u201d\u00a0Likewise, Stryker also contradicted himself and \u2014 perhaps because he is a Democrat \u2014 failed to make the connection between President Joe Biden\u2019s policies, like the American Rescue Plan, and soaring inflation.The New York Times asked, \u201cSo you think Democrats next year should spend the bulk of their time trumpeting their legislative accomplishments from this year?Stryker responded, \u201cWe should spend 2022 talking about things we\u2019ve done to lower costs for working families and to get people back to work. Some of those things may be in a piece of legislation; others are things the White House did. Some are constituent services.\u201dWhat have they done? Stryker did not expound on that.When The New York Times seemed surprised that voters did not believe Democrats were doing anything to address the issue, Stryker said \u201c[Voters] just see costs going up and don\u2019t feel like there\u2019s any progress being made yet.\u201dOf course, if the policies enacted by Democrats have failed to stop prices from rising, then how would leftist candidates run positively on the things they\u2019ve done to lower costs in 2022?Stryker again did not really get into specifics, but he did acknowledge that Americans have a careful eye on the price of everyday goods:Interviewer: How much of [the feeling that progress isn\u2019t being made] driven by the day-to-day lived experiences of people?Stryker: A ton of it. They drive by the pump. They know what the cost of a pound of ground beef is supposed to be, or boneless skinless chicken breast. Those are the things they talk about, meat and groceries \u2014 those are the things they really see.Stryker\u2019s memo was also confusing on that point of the economy.He pointed out that voters are not motivated by being told the economy is getting better because they look around and see disastrous signs everywhere they turn:Jobs numbers, wage numbers, and the number of people we\u2019ve put back to work don\u2019t move them. We should still talk about these (more the wage and back-to-work numbers), but we should realize that they will have limited impact when people are seeing help wanted signs all over main street, restaurant sections closed for lack of workers, rising prices, and supply disruptions. Even where things are getting better, Biden doesn\u2019t get credit.One might point out to Mr. Stryker that perhaps Biden does not get any credit because the successful economies are found in red states like Florida, not Democratic states.Stryker also says that he was surprised education played such a role in the Virginia election but that Covid-19 policies and school closures were a bigger factor than Critical Race Theory for these voters:School closures + COVID policy were a bigger factor than CRT. These voters were more animated talking about their dissatisfaction with their local school districts\u2019 handling of COVID. They felt buffeted by changing and inconsistent policies and concerned about the impact on student learning loss, and there was a sense among some that Virginia was not following the science by keeping schools closed later than other states. One participant, a Biden voter, stated flat out that her vote for Youngkin \u201cwas against the party that closed the schools for so long last year.A keen observer might notice that the one thing Stryker did not recommend was changing their policy proposals for the economy or education.His entire argument is that Democrats simply failed on the messaging front, and spent too much time on social issues.To that extent, he is correct but even there he doesn\u2019t say the Democrats should abandon the pro-Critical Race Theory, transgender ideology topics that became hot button issues. He says that the party just needs to shift its messaging on the issues and focus on social items less.The full memo is an interesting read. Unfortunately for Stryker, he doesn\u2019t seem to understand that first and foremost the Democratic Party\u2019s policies are driving rising costs and school lockdowns \u2014 and it seems like the party is only doubling down on these efforts.And no amount of positive spin can change voters\u2019 perceptions on that before next year\u2019s elections.The Daily Wire is one of America\u2019s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a\u00a0member.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":326,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1077339","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1077339","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/326"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1077339"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1077339\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1077339"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1077339"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1077339"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}