Representative Gerry Connolly (D-VA) said Monday on CNN News Central that the 2024 election results were not that dire for Democrats, who lost the presidency and control of both branches of Congress.
When asked about lessons learned from the election, Connolly said, “I really think we have some regrouping to do. I don’t think the election was as dire as initial press reports made it. Democrats kind of held their own across the country. We had some significant losses in the Senate because of bad geography. We picked up one seat in the House and we kind of held our own mostly in state legislatures. But that doesn’t mean that we can’t improve and we can’t learn, upon reflection, lessons from this recent election. I think how we use language is really important.”
He added, “I’ve succeeded here in Northern Virginia, building a Democratic majority by talking common sense language that makes sense at the kitchen table. Progressive ideas, but not lecturing, not elitist, not judgmental, but an invitation to join us in these policies and these programs. That works here and I believe it can work across the country. So, regrouping, kind of examining how we message and the language we use I believe will serve us well, and being on, you know, on the trenches, on The Bulwark over these next two years will serve us well for a midterm comeback.”
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