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Commentary By Neetu Arnold

DEI Made the Democratic Party Less Diverse

Education, Governance Higher Ed

For all the talk of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) from the Democratic Party, the 2024 election results demonstrate that its voter base has ironically become less diverse. Exit polls show that Democrats lost ground across a broad range of voter groups—Hispanics, Asians, Blacks, and both the working and middle class. The only demographic where they made notable gains at the presidential level was among college-educated white voters. So, what went wrong?

For years, DEI experts told us that viewing racial issues through the lens of colorblind equality overlooked the unique struggles of oppressed groups. They claimed that without addressing racial disparities head-on, often by discriminating against majority groups, real progress wouldn't be made. It turns out they were wrong.

Because they bought into the DEI agenda, Democrats were too busy trying to look diverse to actually listen to the concerns of diverse groups of people. Prioritizing "representation" of minorities meant compromising on the quality of their candidate pool. Prior to picking Kamala Harris as his running mate, President Joe Biden specifically said he'd prefer to pick a candidate "who was of color and/or a different gender." The media praised Harris' selection as a "historic" choice of the first Black and Asian woman to be nominated for vice president, despite her being one of the least popular candidates among Democrats in 2020. And in 2024, Democrats paid a hefty price for choosing a candidate based on identity rather than merit.

Continue reading the entire piece here at Newsweek

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Neetu Arnold is a Paulson Policy Analyst at the Manhattan Institute.

Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images