LG Austin Davis of Pennsylvania says Democrats need to ‘listen’ before writing ‘policy prescription for anything’

Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor Austin Davis, who was elected Tuesday as the brand new president of the Pennsylvania Democratic Lieutenant Governors Association (DLGA), believes the Democratic Party could learn loads from other lieutenant governors across the country.

“We need a Democratic Party and a national party that is focused on winning and organizing everywhere, building the field from the ground up,” said Davis, 35. “I think that’s one of the things Republicans do so well; they start at the local, municipal level and go up.”

He continued: “We need to make sure we support candidates from the state legislature to lieutenant governor and in all positions.”

As the newly elected president of the Democratic Lieutenant Governors Association, Davis hopes to provide Democratic local officials with assist in addressing the electoral challenges evidenced within the 2024 elections, including declining support from working-class voters.

“The first thing we have to do is not try to solve the problem. We need to really get to know these communities deeply and listen to what they have to say; listen to the policies that they expect from their leaders,” said Davis, who noted that Democrats “haven’t understood the economic pain that people are feeling and really haven’t put forward a plan that addresses people’s concerns about it.”

He said of Democrats: “I think sometimes we try to write a political prescription for everything. One thing I’ve learned as an elected official is that I can’t be a good leader if I don’t listen to the people I’m supposed to represent. And I think that’s what we really need to do as a party right now.”

Davis said that for future elections, Democrats need to take into consideration running candidates who’ve “real, lived experience,” like many Democratic local governments across the country.

“We are at a crossroads as a party and we have a tremendous opportunity to invest in and build the next generation of leaders in our party,” said Davis, who noted that the Democratic Party’s lieutenant governors’ caucus is “extremely diverse,” which incorporates some of the nation’s first Black local governments resembling Garlin Gilchrist of Michigan, Sabina Matos of Rhode Island and several other other Black and brown lieutenant governors.

Davis emphasized that the range of DLGA members, which represent greater than half of the U.S. population, goes beyond race and gender – additionally they differ in terms of their general backgrounds.

He continued: “They can engage with voters in other ways. “It’s going to be important for us to make progress, not only to bring new people into the Democratic Party tent, but also to continue to make sure that the people who have been with us have traditionally felt like they had a home in the Democratic Party.”

But as Democrats work to repair their relationship with working-class voters, it is also necessary that they do not alienate their base: Black and brown voters.

“When I was growing up, my dad used to say, ‘You don’t get rid of old friends by making new ones,'” Davis said, adding: “We need to make sure the Democratic Party is a place where everyone feels heard, seen and supported.”

LG Davis said the DLGA is especially focused on potential future electoral success in moving Virginia’s lieutenant governor’s office – currently held by Virginia’s first black LG, Republican Winsome Sears – from red to blue and retaining the New Jersey LG office, which is held by Democrat Tahesha Way. He said the Democratic Lieutenant Governors Association will even address key policy issues resembling gun violence prevention, Black maternal health and overall health care quality.

“What you’re really going to see as a result of, frankly, a lot of the dysfunction that’s going to come out of Washington is … lieutenant governors leading in their states,” Davis said.

He added: “As Democrats, we may have lost the election, but we have not lost our values ​​and we will continue to stand up and fight for true freedom in our states and to make sure we are there fighting for working families.”