Lis Smith: The Democratic brand is in the toilet. Many of the Democrats who succeeded this cycle — our best over-performers in House races, for instance — are people who ran against the Democratic Party brand. Trump tore down the blue wall in the industrial Midwest, but he also expanded his vote the most in our bluest and most urban areas.

A panel of writers and Democratic strategists at the New York Times agreed that the party brand has taken a nosedive after massive losses in the 2024 election.