A long-serving Democrat has publicly acknowledged what he sees as a major problem facing Democrats, arguing that the party has drifted away from voters and become too dependent on political consultants.
Rep. Jim Clyburn, a South Carolina Democrat, made the remarks during an interview on MS NOW’s “The Weekend,” where he was asked about how Democrats can improve their standing with voters moving forward.
“What’s your honest assessment about how if you zoom out, right, not just South Carolina, not just black voters, but how does the party actually change the way that folks view the successes, the failures, and the future that the Democratic Party is promising?” host Eugene Daniels asked.
Clyburn responded by saying Democrats need to reconnect with the people they claim to represent.
“I think that we have to get back to some basics,” Clyburn said.
The veteran congressman pointed to a popular song originating in South Carolina called “Boots on the Ground” as a metaphor for what the party should be doing.
“We’ve got to listen to those people who wear those boots that they’re trying to put on the ground,” Clyburn said. “I don’t believe we listen.”
Clyburn argued that Democratic leaders have spent too much time listening to consultants and not enough time listening to voters.
“I have said this, and I really do believe with all my heart: We pay too much attention to the consulting class, and not enough attention to those people, the constituents,” he continued.
According to Clyburn, voters often understand their own concerns better than political strategists do.
“Our constituents know what they feel, and we have to pay attention to people’s feelings, like what is said about their conditions,” he said.
“People respond emotionally, and my experiences tell me we do not spend enough time, energy and resources with our ground operations that we need to.”
Clyburn suggested that consultants may have played a role in shifting resources away from grassroots organizing efforts.
“I don’t know why we got away from that but I think a lot has to do with these consultants who will get their percentages out of ground operations,” he said.
The comments came during a weekend of celebration for South Carolina Democrats after Republicans in the state Senate blocked an effort backed by President Donald Trump to redraw congressional maps and target Clyburn’s district.
The proposal would have significantly altered South Carolina’s congressional map and potentially threatened the state’s lone Democratic congressional seat.
Instead, the measure failed in the Republican-controlled Senate, preserving Clyburn’s district ahead of this year’s elections.
Meanwhile, polling data highlighted by CNN analyst Harry Enten last month suggests growing dissatisfaction among Democratic voters with their party’s congressional leadership, raising concerns ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
Speaking on CNN, Enten pointed to a sharp decline in net approval ratings for Democratic congressional leaders among Democrats themselves.
According to the data, internal approval has fallen from positive territory in previous election cycles to negative levels, signaling a notable shift in sentiment within the party.
“In 2006, Democrats’ net approval of their congressional leaders was strongly positive, and even as recently as the last midterm it remained well above zero,” Enten said.
“Now, the bottom has fallen out,” he added.
The polling also indicates broader dissatisfaction with Democratic leadership priorities.
Roughly three-quarters of respondents overall said congressional Democrats have the wrong priorities, while only about one-quarter said they have the right ones.
Notably, that skepticism extends to Democratic-leaning voters.
Among Democrats and independents who lean Democratic, a majority expressed doubts about whether party leaders are focused on the right issues.
Enten characterized the findings as a warning sign that could lead to increased primary challenges within the party.
“These numbers are just awful,” he said, adding that the data “screams primary challenges.”
