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The Dartmouth
July 4, 2025 | Latest Issue
The Dartmouth

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand ’88 assesses the Democratic Party’s 2024 election losses

Gillibrand was the fifth speaker in the Rockefeller Center’s 100 Days Series.

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On April 25, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand ’88, D-NY discussed the Democratic Party’s election losses, the Party’s strategy for the upcoming midterm elections and her current legislative agenda. 

Gillibrand said that the Democratic Party was unsuccessful in the 2024 presidential election because of poor messaging.

“The biggest challenge for the Democratic Party is that people who voted for Trump did not think that [the party] would help them on the issues that mattered to them the most,” Gillibrand said. 

The event was co-sponsored by the The Center for Business, Government and Society at Tuck, Dartmouth Conservatives, Dartmouth Dialogues, Dartmouth Democrats and the Dartmouth Political Union. It was co-moderated by Dartmouth Conservatives member Alex Azar III ’25, Tuck professor Charles Wheelan ’88, and Dartmouth Democrats member Lucia Vitali ’26.

According to Rockefeller Center program officer Madison Piel, approximately 180 people attended the event in Filene Auditorium. 

According to Gillibrand, voters wanted to hear the most about decreasing costs and security at home. 

“If a voter did not hear you talk about those two issues in the first, second or third sentence, they stopped listening,” Gillibrand said.

If Democrats focus on those two key issues and use more “innovative” ways of communicating online, they have a chance to flip the House of Representatives and Senate during the upcoming 2026 midterm elections. 

Justice Arai ’28 said that he was impressed with Gillibrand’s assessment of the Democratic Party’s electoral losses.

“It was very refreshing to see a member of Congress who recognizes the faults of the Democratic party right now. I think that her emphasis on the bipartisan part was very inspiring,” Arai said. 

Dartmouth Conservatives president and event co-moderator Alex Azar III ’25 asked Gillibrand what her legislative agenda would be if the Democratic Party was in power. Gillibrand noted that her own legislative agenda has remained the same, despite the Democratic Party’s minority in Congress.   

“I’m always working across party lines, because you can’t actually write a law if you don’t have a strong Republican helping you write that law,” Gillibrand said.

Gillibrand said that the Democratic party should continue to advocate for raising minimum wages, decreasing the cost of medicine and food and supply chain issues. 

“Advocacy plus organizing plus voting ultimately is the fulcrum of change that all of us can participate in,” she said. She cited the success of advocacy in preserving the 9/11 Health Program, the success of litigation in the court’s reversal on the National Institutes of Health funding cuts executive order and the success of bipartisan legislation in stopping tariffs on Canada. 

Attendee Olivia Helstrup, an exchange student from Denmark, enjoyed listening to Gillibrand’s discussion of bipartisanship.

“It was really interesting to hear how she [encouraged] speaking your mind, and that she tried to look into Trump’s point of view,” she said.

Wheelan asked Gillibrand her advice for students considering engaging in civic life.

“I don’t think there’s a more rewarding life that’s dedicated to serving your fellow man in whatever capacity you choose,” Gillibrand said. “… And if you don’t like the people who are elected, then you should run for office.”