*Editors note: This story originally appeared on FloridaDaily.com and was reposted with permission from publisher Ed Dean.
Democrats won this week in the metro areas that they’ve dominated for decades, but a recent poll shows that most voters think Democrats are too focused on social issues. A new poll by the left-leaning group Welcome surveyed over 500,000 voters over the last several months to gauge their views on the current Democratic Party.
The results were damning for Democratic activists and candidates. Around 70% said Democrats are out of touch with mainstream voters. The poll’s analyst said the Democratic Party has abandoned economic issues and focused on issues that resonate with voters.
“Elected officials have reshaped the Democratic Party’s agenda, decreasing our party’s focus on the economic issues that are the top concerns of the American people. These same forces have pushed our party to adopt unpopular positions on a number of issues that are important to voters, including immigration and public safety. To win again, Democrats need to listen more to voters and less to out-of-touch donors,” the report said.
The poll found that voters care more about economic issues, such as lowering costs, growing the economy, creating jobs, and expanding the social safety net.
However, what seemed popular a few years ago no longer applies to today’s political climate.
For example, Welcome says Democrats need to get back to basics primarily the back-pocket cost voters have to deal with, not unpopular economic policies like student loan forgiveness, electric vehicle subsidies and Medicare for All.
On culture issues, the survey warns today’s Democratic Party to shift away from issues like climate change, democracy, abortion, identity and cultural concerns and stay away from affirmative action in college admissions and transgender athletes.
“Convince voters that we share their priorities by focusing more on issues voters do not think our party prioritizes highly enough (the economy, the cost of living, health care, border security, public safety), and focusing less on issues voters think we place too much emphasis on (climate change, democracy, abortion, identity and cultural issues). Moderate our positions where our agenda is unpopular, including on issues like immigration, public safety, energy production, and some identity and cultural issues,” an excerpt from the survey recap read.
