Former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell — who currently is a lecturer at Penn — reflected on Democrats' poor results in the 2024 presidential election in an exclusive interview with The Daily Pennsylvanian.
In the interview, Rendell maintained that President Joe Biden would have been more successful than Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election, despite widespread critiques of Biden's debate performance in late June. He also largely attributed Democrats' electoral losses to issues with strategy rather than with a specific candidate, and pointed toward better advertising and refocusing on important issues as areas of improvement.
Rendell disputed "the notion that's put out by some Republicans and by the president-elect this was a landslide election."
"Considering some of the inherent problems Democrats faced, you can make an argument that they did better than could be expected," Rendell said.
Rendell specifically pointed out the disparity in campaigning periods between Harris and 1968 Wharton graduate and President-elect Donald Trump. Trump announced his 2024 presidential campaign in November 2022, and Harris took over as the Democratic candidate in July after Biden withdrew.
Rendell also characterized Republicans' focus on transgender people as a "made-up issue," suggesting that many Democrats failed to recognize it as such.
"They're trying to put these issues before you, because they're trying to divert your attention from the real issues to report," such as problems affecting working-class voters, he said.
Rendell also explained what steps he would take to change the Democratic Party’s campaign strategy if he was in charge of the party. Firstly, he would focus on advertising well in advance, with a consistent focus on key issues.
“If we kept a steady beat of information going to the people, they would have a better understanding of where we stand,” Rendell said.
Secondly, he stressed the importance of having one candidate from start to finish line.
“We unfortunately, because of President Biden's decision to drop out, didn’t have enough time to have a full-blown campaign … that can’t be repeated,” he said.
In an interview with the DP just prior to Biden's withdrawal, Rendell stated his firm support for Biden as the Democratic candidate — even after his first debate performance. He reiterated this stance when asked if Biden would have been more successful.
“I think President Biden sticking it out would have had a better chance to win," Rendell said. "If he made a strong comeback in the second debate, that probably would have erased some of the damage.”
He still emphasized, however, that he believed Harris was a great candidate.
“I think that Kamala Harris’ performance was excellent,” he said. “Her campaign made some regrettable mistakes … but we should learn these lessons going forward.”
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