Former DNC chair tells CNN Democrats ‘haven’t done a damn thing’ to organize grassroots campaign

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Former DNC chair Howard Dean told CNN’s Kasie Hunt on Thursday that President-elect Donald Trump deserved credit for his team’s organization efforts on the ground while discussing how he won the 2024 election. 

Hunt asked Dean to diagnose the problem that was “clearly revealed” on Election Day, as Trump beat Vice President Kamala Harris. As of Thursday morning, Trump has 292 electoral votes, compared to Harris’ 226.  

“The problem is we haven’t done a damn thing since 2008 about getting out into the grassroots,” he said. “This goes to being on the ground, the Democratic Party ought to be putting a lot of money into school board races, and into city council races, and into local representative races, including in very red states, and they’re not doing that.”

Dean said that while Harris had good infrastructure and ran a good campaign, “there’s nothing underneath.”

Howard Dean suggests Democrats have failed in grassroots organization.  (Screenshot/CNN)

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“The Democratic Party needs to be doing that, and it’s not, and until we learn, we’re not going to win,” he said.

Dean praised Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s campaigning, and said her victory in the House was due to her grassroots campaign. 

“She got out there, and knocked on doors, and organized people. This is not about where you are on the political spectrum. There will be some districts where you have to be a little more conservative and some districts where you’ll have to be a little more liberal,” he said.

Dean added, the world “revolves in the districts” and not Washington, D.C.

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump pumps his fist as he arrives to speak at a campaign event at Nassau Coliseum, Wednesday, Sept.18, 2024, in Uniondale, N.Y.  (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

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“The Republicans have done this much better for almost a generation,” Dean added. 

Harris conceded the election to Trump formally on Wednesday afternoon.

“While I concede this election, I do not concede the fight that fueled this campaign,” she said.

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The vice president spoke at Howard University, her alma mater, where her campaign held a large election night watch party. Harris never addressed the crowd on Tuesday night, as initial optimism about the election turned dour as the clock struck past midnight.