THE Democratic Party largely misunderstood voters’ concerns about democracy, exit polls show.

vice-president Kamala Harriswho conceded the election to the former president Donald Trump Wednesday, and Democrats had campaigned vigorously on the issue of democracy, although less than the president Joe Biden did so, naming Trump as the greatest threat to American democracy.

When early exit polls showed this was a major voting issue, liberals took that as a sign that this could be good news for Harris.

But Trump voters made up a larger share of those who called American democracy “somewhat threatened,” 50 percent, or “very threatened,” 51 percent. CNNExit polls show it. Comparably, Harris voters comprised 49 percent of those who said democracy in the United States was “somewhat threatened” and 47 percent said “very threatened.”

“Democrats have dramatically overplayed their role in the 2024 elections on the question of democracy,” said Republican Party strategist Matt Klink. News week. “Most voters, except for die-hard Democrats and a few but vocal Republicansbelieve that Donald Trump was a threat to democracy.”

“Democratic party leaders, in conjunction with the elite media, have tried to sell this anti-Trump story to the American people since Trump was elected president in 2016,” Klink said.

Harris supporters were even more likely to rank democracy as their most important issue, 80 percent, compared to 18 percent of Trump voters. The second biggest issue for Harris voters was abortion, at 74 percent, while Trump voters cited immigration as their number one issue, at 90 percent, and the economy, at 80 percent. hundred.

However, the reasons why Trump voters worry about democracy are different from the worries cited by Democrats. While liberals see the former president as the man working to undo democracy, MAGA supporters continue to ruminate on Georgia-based man Spiro Amburn’s election fraud allegations four years ago. Republican strategist, says News week.

At the same time, Democrats hoped that all of their voters would be willing to vote for democracy, not realizing that many working-class Americans, even liberals, are more concerned about the economy and inflation.

“Many Trump voters still believe that the 2020 election was illegitimate and that the federal government poses a threat to personal freedom,” Amburn said. “Working-class Democrats were more concerned about the cost of living under the Biden administration than under the Trump administration.”

“Democrats misunderstood their voters and failed to connect with them,” he said.

Carter Wrenn, a veteran Republican strategist who managed Ronald Reagan’s North Carolina campaign during the Republican primaries, agrees that “democracy” probably means different things to Trump and Harris voters.

“Harris’ campaign focused on the peaceful transfer of power. They view stolen election demands as a threat to democracy.” Wrenn said News week. “When you ask a Trump Republican or a Republican in general about a threat to democracy, I think they might think of illegal immigration or wokeness.”

Klink argued that Trump voters concerned about democracy “interpreted Democrats’ efforts at censorship, anti-law enforcement, open borders, and progressive policies as an equal, if not greater, threat to democracy.”