NEW YORK (AP) — Democrats are feeling stressed and depressed as the new year begins. And many wonder whether the party’s commitment to diverse candidates, especially women, will lead to more political battles in the era of Donald Trump.
A recent poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that a significant number of Democrats believe it could be decades before the United States has its first female president. did.
Specifically, a December AP-NORC poll found that about 4 in 10 Democrats say it is “not very likely” that a woman will be elected to the nation’s highest office in their lifetime; or “Not at all,” he replied. By comparison, about a quarter of Republicans feel the same way.
Disappointment is not unusual for a political party after a high-profile loss, but the survey results reflect deep-seated depression among Democrats about the country and their party after Trump’s sweeping victory over Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris. It reflects what you feel.
Those concerns may already be shaping the Democratic National Committee’s search for new leadership. For the first time in more than a decade, all of the top candidates for the job are white men.
And looking further ahead, the party’s pessimism is influencing early conversations about the 2028 presidential nomination race.
“We knew men hated women. The last election showed that some of us underestimated the extent to which some women hate other women. ,” said Gilda Cobb-Hunter, a South Carolina Democratic state representative and former chair of the National Black State Legislature Caucus. “America is, and always has been, racist and misogynistic.”
The Democratic Party has nominated a woman to run against President Trump in two of the past three presidential elections. In both cases, Trump decisively defeated Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Harris in 2024. Joe Biden, the Democrat who ousted Trump in 2020, was a white man.
A further insult to many Democrats was the long list of allegations women have raised against Trump. He was found responsible for sexual abuse in civil court and convicted in a hush money case involving an adult film star. He was once caught on tape bragging about being able to grab women’s genitals without their consent because he was famous.
Still, Trump narrowly won all the key battleground states in November. Among women, Harris had a 53% advantage to Trump’s 46%, but the margin was slightly narrower than Biden’s. Trump’s support among white women remained steady, with just over half supporting him, just as in 2020.
Most Democrats (about 7 in 10) think 2025 will be a worse year for the United States than 2024, according to an Associated Press-NORC poll. That’s compared to about 4 in 10 U.S. adults who feel that way.
The poll also found that Democrats are less likely to personally feel “happy” or “hopeful” about 2025. Instead, about 4 in 10 Democrats say the word “stress” describes their feelings very or very well, while about a third of Democrats say “depressed” describes their feelings very well or very well. ” he answered.
Meanwhile, majorities of Republicans and conservatives said “happy” at least best describes how they feel about 2025. Similar respondents also expressed similar opinions regarding “full of hope.”
“It’s very dark outside right now,” said Rachel Weinman, 41, a Democrat from Murrieta, Calif., who responded to the poll. “My family and I are circling the wagons trying to keep our heads down and survive.”
There are early signs that the defeat is raising questions about the modern Democratic Party’s core commitment to supporting minority groups, including women, while promoting diverse candidates to positions of power.
For some Democratic leaders, Mr. Trump’s huge success with working-class white voters and his modest victories among blacks and Latinos in this election are a sign that unless the party changes its approach, Some fear it signals a political realignment that could upend the political landscape for years to come.
The DNC chairman’s vote is the first clue as to the party’s direction in the second Trump administration. With three weeks until the election, the leading candidates are Wisconsin party chairman Ben Wikler and Minnesota party chairman Ken Martin.
Both are the first white men to hold the positions since Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine resigned in 2011.
Mr. Martin and Mr. Wikler qualified Saturday for the DNC candidate forum at the committee’s winter meeting in suburban Washington, the first of four gatherings before the Feb. 1 election. He is considered the strongest candidate among eight candidates.
The two candidates are former presidential candidate Marianne Williamson and former U.S. House of Representatives candidate, educator, and civil rights activist Quintessa Hathaway.
Outgoing Chairman Jamie Harrison, who is Black, said in a statement that the commission is well-positioned to compete in future elections and counter President Trump’s policies.
“Democrats are ready to hold him accountable,” Harrison said. “We will continue to invest in all 50 states to strengthen power from the local level and elect Democrats across the country.”
Meanwhile, some rank-and-file Democrats in early primary states are openly wondering whether they would be at a disadvantage if the party’s next White House nominee is not a Christian, straight, white man. Barack Obama is the only black person to be elected president in American history.
Talia Flores, a New Hampshire Democrat, said Harris’ loss meant that rising stars such as gay Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Jewish Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and, most prominently, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, He said it made him reconsider its political viability. Women are expected to consider running for president in 2028.
“Mr. Kamala’s loss could have an impact on those candidates as well, because someone who is not a mainstream white male is probably not a good bet,” Flores said, adding that such concerns could affect the next president. He said he did not think it would affect her personal vote in the primary election. “It’s a shame that we’re even having this conversation.”
He added: “The American people can’t seem to support women.”
Overall, the AP-NORC poll found that about a quarter of Americans say it is very likely or very likely that the country will elect a woman president in their lifetime. did. About 4 in 10 U.S. adults say it’s somewhat likely, and about a third say it’s either not very likely or not at all likely.
Although such sentiments are consistent among Americans of all ages and genders, black Americans are more likely than white or Hispanic adults to believe that such a thing will happen in their lifetime. ” or “It never happens.”
Sarah Barnett, 49, a small business owner from Edgerton, Missouri, said she is “terrified” about where the country will be in 2025.
“Not all of us are looking forward to the next four years,” she said.
As for whether he thinks the U.S. will elect a woman in his lifetime, he said he wants to be optimistic.
“Yes, there’s going to be sexism, misogyny, patriarchy and everything else involved. … But we had a black president,” Barnett said. “Yes, I do expect a woman to be elected. Do I have high expectations? No.”
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Sanders reported from Washington.
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The AP-NORC poll of 1,251 adults was conducted between Dec. 5 and 9, 2024, using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. It was carried out until today. The margin of sampling error for all adults is plus or minus 3.7 percentage points.
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