Having covered six presidential elections and five midterm elections over 20 years, I have long believed that there are many reasons why people vote the way they do, and all of them are valid.
Many vote on financial issues, and who could blame them for prioritizing issues like gas prices over esoteric and intellectual concerns about democracy or limited government, especially in tough economic times? Democrats, for their part, seem to finally recognize that while the economy may be technically strong, statistics can’t keep up with sentiment.
Others may be voters who are only interested in one issue at a time. I have met many voters on the left and right who go to the polls thinking only about abortion or gun control. Many also voted in protest against events abroad – the war in Iraq, for example, or now the war in Gaza. Who tells them these are not worthwhile causes?
Others still vote strictly along party lines – Democrat or Republican – because they believe their party generally has better solutions or because they want their party to be able to implement their policies.
And some vote because they feel represented – they see themselves in the candidate running for office – in a man who grew up like them, in a woman who faced similar challenges, in someone close to their age, a child of the immigrant community like their parents, or in someone of their faith.
But there is another, less tangible reason why people vote: they want to be part of something.
New enthusiasm and energy
I spoke to countless Bernie Sanders supporters in 2016, when he was competing with Hillary Clinton for her considerable money. To them, she was a company, while he was a cause. He promised something much bigger – a movement, a revolution. He meant something to voters.
This year, voters flocked to Donald Trump because he was unlike anything they had ever seen before. He promised an end to the status quo, a return to the America they missed, a new kind of politics with a new kind of leader. With Trump, they could reject not only the Democrats, but the Republicans as well. He went beyond the boundaries of politics.
The final month of this election, culminating with the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, has revealed a campaign that has captivated voters in ways that seem truly incomprehensible.
The excitement and energy within the Harris-Waltz campaign is new – it simply wasn’t there before President Joe Biden resigned. And it has drained all the energy from the Donald Trump-JD Vance campaign, which seemed invincible just a month ago.
It’s not just about politics. Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz haven’t said much in the way of concrete information. But it’s not just about substantive issues. The issues that most Americans worry about – the economy and immigration – aren’t really benefiting the Democrats.
And it’s not just about representation. Many people are probably excited to elect the first woman of color as president. But unlike Trump, Harris and Walz are leaning on their identities to expand their coalitions, not shrink and condense them.
But it’s more than that. Voters see that something is happening, something refreshing, exciting and new. And they want to join the party.
They want to be part of Harris’ positive vision of “freedom. opportunity. compassion. dignity. fairness. and endless possibilities.”
They want Walz’s cheerful version of patriotism: “We are all here tonight for one beautiful, simple reason: We love this country.”
They want to celebrate, not mourn.
And while one side celebrates, the other is plotting. Trump and Vance are plotting destruction, revenge, retribution. They are plotting to roll back women’s rights, voting rights, and immigrant rights. They are plotting to dismantle American institutions and reward insurgents who have already tried.
And they mourn the death of a country that most Americans still love – an America that, as Trump will tell you, is being overrun by “bloodshed, chaos and violent crime,” a country headed toward “bondage and ruin.”
It is an America that Trump claims is “in decline, a failing nation” and “a communist country.”
Who would choose to live in this kind of depressing, dystopian darkness when they could choose to join the party of joy, light, optimism and confidence?
Sentiment is no substitute for substance. Harris and Walz need to flesh out their agenda. But what is happening on the left is more than sentiment. A movement is developing that people want to be part of.
And as Trump is now realizing, it is very difficult to compete against that.
SE Cupp is the host of “SE Cupp Unfiltered” on CNN.
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