John — Like so many of you, I’ve spent the past five days trying to make sense of everything that happened on Tuesday.

What went wrong?
What could we have done differently?
How do we come back from this?

I won’t pretend I have all the answers, but I think it’s important that we start having these conversations right away. And we need to have them out in the open so supporters like you, the lifeblood of our party, can be part of them.

So here’s what I’m thinking five days later:

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I don’t think voters crave Trump; they just really hate inflation.

All year and all across the globe, the people and parties in power after COVID-19 have lost significant ground in a backlash against rising prices. From France to Japan to the UK, every incumbent party in a wealthy democracy faced major losses this year:

Financial Times graphic that says Every governing party facing election in a developed country this year lost vote share, the first time this has ever happened [[link removed]] Chart courtesy of Financial Times (FT) [[link removed]]I had hoped that Democrats would avoid the same outcome because the Biden-Harris Administration has done a historically outstanding job at combating rising prices. America’s inflation rate has dropped further and faster than nearly every other developed nation, and we’ve created millions of jobs while growing GDP in the meantime.

We have the strongest economy in the world and are years ahead of other countries when it comes to fighting inflation, but it wasn’t enough. Our challenge, as Democrats, is figuring out why.

Why aren’t many voters feeling the benefits of falling prices and rising pay? What could we have done to better inform them about our economic wins and future plans? How was Trump able to earn their trust on the economy when our plan is so clearly better?

Those are hard questions to answer, but when we figure them out, we will win.

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Democrats can run strong campaigns.

If you look at the chart I shared above, you can see that Democrats actually outperformed almost every incumbent party worldwide this year. I believe that’s because we know how to run strong and exciting campaigns.The crowds and the energy on the ground were electric. The organizing was phenomenal. In polling, our message helped shrink Trump’s lead or grow Democratic advantages on every major issue.

Democrats still have many of the ingredients to win campaigns and grow our movement, but we need to find a way to overcome voters' economic distrust and break through in a new media environment.

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Trump’s win aside, North Carolina keeps getting bluer.

From 2020-2024, Trump’s share of the vote is likely to grow by 5-6% nationwide. In some states, like New York and Arizona, it appears to have grown even more. In North Carolina, Trump's vote share only grew 2%.North Carolina Democrats outperformed the nation, and in a different political environment, I believe we would’ve flipped North Carolina’s electoral votes.

NBC News headline that says Outside of the presidential race, Democrats had a good election in North Carolina [[link removed]]Don’t forget: North Carolina Democrats won at least five statewide races this year as we elected Josh Stein for Governor, Rachel Hunt for Lt. Governor, Jeff Jackson for Attorney General, Elaine Marshall for Secretary of State, and Mo Green for Superintendent. As of Friday, the statewide Supreme Court race remained too close to call.

We overcame one of America’s most extreme legislative gerrymanders to gain ground in the state legislature and break a Republican supermajority.

And we won North Carolina’s only competitive Congressional district, with my friend Don Davis decisively holding his U.S. House seat.

Donald Trump’s win will earn the most press, but North Carolina Democrats have a lot to be proud of. That brings me to my final point…

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We’re going to win in 2026.

In 2026, North Carolinians have the opportunity to help take back the United States Senate by unseating Thom Tillis. I believe we’re well on our way to doing so.

In 2024, we proved that the NC Democratic coalition is growing and organizing. We knocked hundreds-of-thousands of doors, made millions of calls, raised massive amounts of money, and held some of the most exciting rallies I’ve ever been part of.

In 2026, the political environment will look very different. I don’t think it will take long for tuned-out voters to realize that Donald Trump’s economic plan is a failure — and that giving him a rubber-stamp senate is flat out dangerous.

So if you’re looking for a way to take action right now, chipping in to support our eventual Senate nominee (and other Democrats on the ballot) is a great place to start:

Please click here if you’d like to get back in the fight by preparing to win the Senate and turn North Carolina bright blue in 2026. Your donations fund early organizing, advertising, and outreach we need to keep NC trending blue. [[link removed]]

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What's on your mind?

If you read all of that and are still here, you certainly deserve to have a voice in this conversation about our future, so drop me a line in reply to this email. I can’t promise I’ll respond to every note, but I’ll do my best to read them all and carry your ideas and feedback into my work.Thanks for all you do. Let’s stay in this fight together.

— Wiley


North Carolina Democrats won five key statewide races in 2024, and in 2026, we can help stymie Trump’s agenda by taking back the Senate and House. If you’re looking for a way to make a difference right now, please consider chipping in to prepare for the fights ahead.

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