Let me begin by being upfront about my politics: I am a progressive liberal. I’ve voted democrat in every presidential and midterm election I've been old enough to participate in. I am proud of each and every one of those votes. I am, frankly and honestly, devastated by the results of last week’s election.
But the thing that should have been clear eight years ago and was clarified even further last Tuesday is that the Democratic Party ... needs some big changes. In fact, it’s already undergoing some big changes.
We’ll be discussing take-aways and learnings from this election in the many weeks, months, and years to come. But one thing that is starting to become clear thanks to polling data is that there have been some major shifts in who votes Democrat and who votes Republican.
For many election cycles in modern history, race (and identity more broadly) has shaped our political parties. Since 2008, white people have been more likely to vote Republican and people of color have been more likely to vote Democrat. But already, data is showing us that about a third of all non-white voters voted for Donald Trump. Expectation and wisdom also seemed to say that women – of all races – would vote overwhelmingly Democratic, especially in the 2024 election with a woman at the top of their ticket and reproductive freedom on the line. But that didn’t happen. While white women still voted a majority for Harris, they did so with smaller numbers than they did for Biden four short years ago.
Because our political parties, for most of modern memory, have been shaped by identity politics, many experts and pollsters expected this to still be the case this year. But, and even despite the hyper-focus on identity politics with sexism, racism, and xenophobia front and center in political rhetoric, voting patterns themselves didn't match up to these liberal expectations. We got it wrong.
Last week, I went to an event at Harvard’s Kennedy School exploring the immediate aftermath of the election. One of the panelists, a journalist, said they approached their work as “finding questions in answers.” I liked this frame, and well, America, we have our answer.
Now let’s get back to the questions.
I have a lot of questions: In the aftermath of this election, when identity politics seem to have become less salient, do we even still need to be thinking about identity? What is in the future for the Republican and Democratic parties? What role will our identities – those we can see and those we can’t - take on in future elections? How do we hold a more nuanced, more true, identity of ourselves and those around us?
When I worked for the Aspen Institute, I was introduced to political scientist Liliana Mason’s concept of “mega identities,” which explore how political identities in the United States have increasingly become all-encompassing. In other words, these mega-identities combine various aspects of identity—like race, religion, gender, geography, and cultural preferences—under the umbrella of either the Republican or Democratic party. This year’s shift in voting patterns might point towards a breakdown of those all-encompassing identities. They aren’t showing up in political life as many expected.
But while our parties might be moving away from identity politics, I think our identity still matters. Just in a different way. And this year's polling data can give us an opportunity to think about identity and our politics in a new way. That might be a silver lining of this election I can get behind.
The work at Cohesion Strategy in recent weeks has explored how we evaluate behavior change, how multi-faith organizations can show us concretely how to work with those we disagree with, and if bridging programs are working the way we hope that they do. I think, under all of these answers, are questions of identity. So, while the parties might be shifting away from clear identity-politics and mega-identities could be losing their hold, it's time we started talking about identity in a new way.
I wonder if instead of identity, we can talk about values.
There is a great diversity of values, and the way we conceptualize, define, and act out our values is often understood in different ways. That all remains true. But, values also give us deeper and more honest a starting place to find connection, build bridges, and create impact. Values conversations may be harder, but they get us closer to the work. They get us to more nuanced conversations with those that are similar and different than us.
And as I’m often wanting to do, I turn towards multi-faith and intra-faith organizations for guidance. These organizations have been leaders in tough conversation and deep discernment for centuries. They have always been leaders in values-based conversations and connections. Additionally, multi-faith and faith-inspired organizations have long navigated the complexities of diverse beliefs, values, and cultural practices, positioning them uniquely to lead value-driven conversations in moments of deep difference and conflict with respect and understanding. These conversations aren’t just necessary—they might be key to better understanding political and cultural life moving forward.
So, let me end with some more questions: How do you understand the exit-poll data already coming out of last week’s election? How do you see identity politics playing a role in future elections, and what role can values-driven work take on instead?
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