Sen. Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.) suggested that Democrats will need to start listening to voices “outside of Washington, D.C.” as the party reels from its losses in the 2024 election.
“It’s going to have to start with a whole lot of authentic listening outside of Washington, D.C.,” said Butler, who took over late Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s (D-Calif.) seat in September last year, said in a New York Times interview published Wednesday.
“Not just going somewhere to give a speech, but really listening to people and the lives that they are trying to navigate, the issues that they’re trying to manage and really trying to formulate a way of moving forward rooted in that. As opposed to focusing on the noise that can be the latest talking point,” Butler, a close ally of Vice President Harris, added.
Butler’s advice comes as the Democratic Party has been searching for answers in the wake of the GOP securing a trifecta in the White House, Senate and House.
For some, the party’s woes revolve around ineffective messaging on kitchen-table economic issues, such as inflation, wages and the accelerating trend of wealth inequality. For others, the trouble stems from the explosive debate over the Israel-Hamas war. For still others, the problems relate to culture war battles, including LGBTQ issues such as transgender rights.
During the interview, Butler was asked about a theory that as the country became more diverse, support for the Democratic Party among Black and brown voters would give the party a more permanent majority.
“No voter can be taken for granted. No matter what race they are. Every human being wants to know, how is government working for them?” Butler said, as reported by The Times.
“It’s wonderful, the things that a Democratic Congress and a Democratic president were able to deliver in this Biden-Harris administration. But when people don’t know and/or can’t feel those impacts, and have been told for the last 10 years that they’ve got nothing else to lose, that idea sets in. Demographics is not destiny. We’ve got to continue to engage and do the work and offer something,” Butler added.
The senator will not be returning to the Senate.
