[Hoot Gibson]

The Democrats wasted too much time and resources on beating the dead horse of Trump being evil, and probably didn't change too many people's minds in doing it.  Instead they should have been focusing on and trying to educate the voters on why inflation occurred and what would have happened if the money was not put into the economy.  When I heard sometime around 7:00 that the exit polls were showing that the #1 issue that voters were basing their vote on was the economy, I pretty much knew she was in deep trouble.  I didn't even bother watching any of the broadcasts after that.

Messaging was not the Democrats' problem. They saddled themselves with a truly horrible candidate for the third consecutive election. IMO, Trump learned from his mistakes in 2016 and 2020 and then ran a near flawless 2024 campaign. I'm not sure that the election was winnable for Democrats, no matter who they had run, but with the possible exception of Joe Biden, they could not have picked a worse candidate. 

Think about it - the Amish were flying Trump flags on horse drawn buggies displaying Trump banners on their way to the polls in Pennsylvania. Trump voters were highly motivated.