A prominent Democratic governor is drawing fire after declaring that her party does not need any of the men to win the White House in 2028.
Democrat New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham made the remark during the Democratic National Convention (DNC) Rules and Bylaws Committee Meeting in Washington, D.C., where she appeared with other state officials and convention chairs. The gathering, which stretched roughly seven hours, allowed party leaders to argue over which states should receive coveted early window status in the 2028 presidential primary calendar, according to the Daily Caller.
The controversy arose when a staff member conceded that Democrats are losing their share of the electorate in New Mexico, a state that has long leaned blue but has shown signs of erosion. Gov. Grisham brushed aside the warning by insisting that the party could rely almost exclusively on women to carry them over the finish line.
If women Democratic women just show up and vote, were good. We dont need any of the men, Grisham said, signaling a willingness to sideline half the electorate in pursuit of a gender-based strategy. Her comments came after a New Mexico official touted the states record on electing female Democrats, boasting, We have more women and women of color elected in New Mexico than anywhere else in the country. We have the most female legislature.
New Mexico currently ranks second only to Nevada in the share of female legislators, with women holding 54 percent of seats, according to the Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP). That statistic has become a point of pride for Democrats in the state, even as it raises questions about whether identity metrics are being prioritized over broad-based appeal.
Gov. Grisham did concede that Democrats are struggling to connect beyond their core constituencies. We cant lose anyone. We should be winning by stunning margins given the shape of this country and the issues that were all battling every single day for the people that we love in our communities, she said, before adding, Should be no contest. But it is.
After her initial dismissal of male voters, Grisham attempted to soften the message, insisting she was not actually writing men off. I want the men, she later clarified. I am greedy. Losing anyone and thats been, I think, part of the Democratic Partys national branding problem. We focus on a group.
For decades, Democrats have leaned heavily on the gender gap, with a majority of women voting Democrat in presidential contests since 1996, according to CAWP. In 2024, voting data showed Kamala Harris holding an eight-point advantage among women, while men backed President Trump by 12 points.
Harris weakness with male voters was stark: she captured just 43 percent of the male vote compared to Trumps 55 percent, with the presidents surge among younger men proving decisive. Trump secured a majority of votes from men under 50, a dramatic reversal from 2020, when men in that age group favored Biden by 10 points, according to the Pew Research Center.
A leaked, incomplete DNC autopsy of Harris 2024 defeat acknowledged the partys gender problem, stating, The national campaign appeared to struggle with male voter engagement. The same report noted that male voters require direct engagement, but offered little in the way of concrete strategies to win them back.
Despite Harris narrowly carrying New Mexico with 51.9 percent of the vote in 2024, Democrats now face a widening credibility gap with men even as some leaders publicly flirt with the idea that they dont need them. Grishams remarks underscore a broader tension within the party between identity-driven rhetoric and the electoral reality that, in a closely divided nation, dismissing entire segments of voters is a risky strategy that could further strengthen President Trump and Republicans heading into 2028.
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