In Bucks County, City Hall attendees and Senator Reuben Gallego criticized the party’s strategy to communicate with non-traditional voters.
LEVITTOWN, Pennsylvania — There are harsh words about their own performance as Democrats will appreciate the future of the party after losing the 2024 election.
On May 10th, at People’s Town Hall in the battlefield area of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Sen. Reubengalego (D-Ariz.) provided plenty of criticism about Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential election and the party’s traditional strategy.
“The problem is that we are always safe too,” Galego said in response to a question about party messaging.
“We don’t necessarily talk to Fox News, or we don’t actually go to podcasts. Podcasters can’t go there because they don’t match our politics 100% or say something stupid many years ago.
President Donald Trump won Bucks County, a suburb of Philadelphia, with just 292 votes in 2024. Gallego and the audience criticized the Democrats for alleged communications with voters.
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“We had Joe Rogan,” Gallego said. Before he supported Trump, he hinted at Logan’s past support for Democratic candidates, including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). “We cancelled Joe Rogan a few years ago. Democrats don’t want to admit this. We did. And it’s… I doubt (doubtedly) whether we should go to Joe Rogan.
Gallego said the party needs to extend its outreach to a variety of media including conservative media, beyond “CNN and MSNBC.”
He also advised Democrats to hold non-traditional political events to bring voters together, such as “Boxing Watch Party,” “White Rodeo,” “Food Tasting,” “Taco Track,” and “Pickle Ball.”
The Democratic voters in the audience who spoke with the Epoch Times had similar complaints about the party’s performance.
“It’s incrementalism that lost the Democrats in the election,” said Kyle Kravitz, a 32-year-old plumber and progressive voter from Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, who attended City Hall. “(They) (and I think they could be a little more frank about what they want to do.”
Plumber Kyle Kravitz will be taking part in the City Hall event held on May 10, 2025 in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Arjun Singh/The Epoch Times
“Calm up, host city hall and do what AOC and Bernie are doing. Just post a little bit or more directly on social media across the country,” Kravitz said the series of large gatherings (DN.Y.) hosted by Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (DN.Y.) are notable progressive leaders.
Patricia Lanzata, a retired nurse in Bucks County. She suggested that Democrats have credibility issues. Similar criticism has been levelled in the past against progressive proposals such as the “Medicare for All” universal healthcare.
“(You) give them more direction in how you do things.
“I love what Corey Booker did. Go out there, make that position and be very vocal. I want it… it gives more Democrat strength and courage,” she said.
It appears that some Democratic candidates and officials are receiving messages. At the city hall, figures from several party members, including DNC vice-chairman and Senator Malcolm Kenyatta, and party chairperson Senator Sharif Street, were present, and expressed approval of Gallego’s remarks.
Professional boxer Tim Witherspoon said social media is important.
“It’s important to try to take some of the new technology… Tiktok, Instagram, YouTube and we already have a lot of that demographic, so we’re engaged,” he said. Witherspoon is the Democratic candidate in the May 20 election for the Bristol Township School Board in Bucks County.
Plumber Kyle Kravitz will be taking part in the City Hall event held on May 10, 2025 in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Arjun Singh/The Epoch Times
“The Democrats try to fight… anger and anger, and I don’t think it’s a good way to convey the message. I think we have to fight that anger with a positive message,” Witherspoon said of the party’s way of dealing with Trump and Republicans.
So far, such discourse within the Democrats has been uneven, not a formal party-wide strategy.
Given the decentralized structure of American political parties, this could continue this way until the 2028 Democratic presidential primary, when the party chooses its leader.
“The ones who voted for Donald Trump are voters who rarely think about politics and weren’t engaged until they voted,” Gallego said. “What’s wrong with us? What’s wrong, what’s not breaking the barriers, what’s not reaching them?”
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is holding a series of “People’s Town Halls” across the country in hopes of mobilizing party bases and fostering more supporters in preparation for the 2026 medium-term elections.
