Democratic Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman questioned whether his party can win back white male voters. He shared his doubts on a Thursday podcast.
President Donald Trump secured 60% of white male voters in 2024. That number was just shy of the 61% he got in 2020. An Edison Research exit poll reported by Reuters confirmed the trend.
Puck News reporter Tara Palmeri asked Fetterman how Democrats could bring back voters like him. His response? He wasn’t sure they could. He pointed to factors pushing men away from the party.
“I don’t know, and truthfully, I’m not sure, I’m not sure if that’s possible, to be honest. I think that’s been seriously eroding for a while,” Fetterman admitted. He said many men feel blamed by Democrats. “They don’t even want to say it publicly, but they just feel like, you know, the other side seems like it’s like, ‘Men, well, that men’s the problem. Men are to blame, or their masculinity is toxic.’”
He continued, saying men feel pressured to fit a strict mold. “Unless you’re able to conform to our very strict kinds of definition of what we think’s appropriate, well then, hey, I’m going to find an alternative,” he said.
Fetterman believes that shift has been happening for years. “And they’ve done that. That’s absolutely true,” he added. “Once we’ve kind of turned their back on that demographic, it’s going to be difficult to rebuild and replace that with those voters.” He said the trend played a key role in 2024.
Trump also made gains with Hispanic and black men. He even won a majority of Latino male voters, a first for a Republican nominee. An NBC News exit poll confirmed the shift.
Democratic strategist James Carville warned his party about this issue. Back in March, he said Democratic campaign culture had “too many preachy females.” He faced backlash for it. But after the election, the numbers spoke for themselves.
“Have you looked at the male vote that we got in November?” Carville asked. “No one since November has come up and said a thing to me.” He said the problem isn’t just with white men. “Primarily, we have a large problem with males, and I’m not just talking about white males like you and I. I’m talking about males all across, and we need to address that.”
He warned Democrats not to ignore the issue. “And we don’t need to be shouted down by Washington liberal advocacy groups or NPR,” he added.