California lawmaker declares new day for Democrats

California Rep. Jackie Speier (D) celebrated a wave of Democratic victories Wednesday morning on CNN, saying it meant a “new day” for her party was dawning.

“It’s a new day for Democrats. I think that the electorate, the Democratic electorate woke up. And we woke up earlier this year to a nightmare, recognizing that it was time to deliver,” Speier said on CNN’s “New Day.”

“I think the Women’s March, which was the biggest march in the history of this country, really enlivened the interests of Democrats to reach out and to be counted,” she continued. “And that’s exactly what happened last night.”

Democrats on Tuesday won gubernatorial contests in Virginia and New Jersey, two states also won by Hillary Clinton in last year’s presidential race. They also made significant gains in Virginia’s assembly.  

CNN host Alisyn Camerota noted a recent CNN poll showed the party had its worst approval rating in 25 years, with just 37 percent. Republicans won just a 30 percent approval rating in the same poll.

{mosads}

Speier attributed these low poll numbers to Democrats’ inability to articulate a message to voters.

“Well, it means that we have to make very clear what our message is,” Speier said. “And I don’t think we have done an excellent job of doing that.”

“They want to know what we’re going to produce,” she added. “We know what the Republicans are producing in terms of a tax cut, it’s a huge scam and a huge tax cut for the wealthy and corporations but what are we promoting? What are we producing? So I think we have to be much more alert to showing what the differences are.”