With the midterm elections approaching, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, said his party is getting "destroyed" on messaging and "crushed on narrative."
"We're going to have to do better in terms of getting on the offense and stop being on the damn defense," Newsom said Wednesday in a CBS News interview with chief Washington correspondent Major Garrett, The Hill reported.
Newsom admitted to CBS that the midterm environment feels like a red wave is coming.
"I'm not paid to say that. I could be the cheerleader. I'm also pragmatic. You feel it," he said.
Newsom again deflected speculation of a possible White House run, telling Garrett, "It's not the direction that I'm leaning into," and "it's not the moment."
In September, at The Texas Tribune Festival in Austin, Newsom urged Democrats to be more aggressive.
"These guys are ruthless on the other side," he said. "Where are we? Where are we organizing, bottom-up, a compelling alternative narrative? Where are we going on the offense every single day? They're winning right now."
Many other Democrats are urging members of their party to refocus their message from abortion rights and "the threat to democracy" to economic issues and inflation.
"In my view, while the abortion issue must remain on the front burner, it would be political malpractice for Democrats to ignore the state of the economy and allow Republican lies and distortions to go unanswered," Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., wrote in an op-ed published in The Guardian last month.
On Tuesday, The New York Times published a front-page article on the Democrats' messaging: "Top Democratic officials, lawmakers and strategists are openly second-guessing their party's campaign pitch and tactics, reflecting a growing sense that Democrats have failed to coalesce around one effective message with enough time to stave off major losses in the House and possibly decisive defeats in the tightly contested Senate.
"The criticisms by Democrats in the final days of the midterm elections signal mounting anxiety as Republicans hammer away with attacks over the economy and public safety.
"For weeks, Democrats have offered a scattershot case of their own, accusing their opponents of wanting to gut abortion rights, shred the social safety net and shake the foundations of American democracy.
"Yet as the country struggles with high gas prices, record inflation and economic uncertainty, some Democrats now acknowledge that their kitchen-sink approach may be lacking."
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