Political science professors in Hampton Roads think Vice President Kamala Harris losing the election will force democrats to take stock in where their efforts were focused—and how to better connect with voters across the country in the next election.
"When it come to the presidential election, I really do think that one of the things that you’re going to see is some democratic soul searching,” said Dr. Leslie Caughell, associate professor of political science for Virginia Wesleyan University.
She believes Vice President Kamala Harris’s losing campaign against President-elect Donald Trump relied too heavily on the aftermath of the 2020 election, including the events on Jan. 6.
“The insurrection, the election denialism,” Caughell adds. “A lot of things that they really made a forefront of their criticisms of President Trump didn’t seem to resonate with the public.”
And, based on voter turnout in key battleground states, Caughell also noted that Harris' support lagged among Black and Hispanic voters, who have traditionally been a strong base for the party.
“We can see that’s not how voters are thinking in these two communities, which happen to have some socially conservative value structures. There are parts of the republican party that appeal to them,” she said.
However, Dr. Colita Fairfax — a professor at Norfolk State University — interpreted the election results differently.
“There are persons out there that don’t bring perhaps the savviness to understand institutionally how his second term will absolutely alter and change America,” said Fairfax.
Instead, she believes this election came down to one major factor.
“I believe the country simply wasn’t ready for a black South-Asian president who is a woman,” said Fairfax.