Dem pollster circulates 'wake-up call' memo after Virginia defeat

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A memo sent out by a Democratic pollster following Glenn Youngkin’s victory in the Virginia gubernatorial race warns Democrats that the party "has a problem" heading into the 2022 midterms and 2024 presidential election.

"[I]f we are running 2022 on ‘Republican candidate = Trump,’ we’re getting killed," Democratic pollster Brian Stryker wrote in a memo last month outlining several "challenges" the party will have to win going forward.

President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the debt ceiling during an event in the State Dining Room of the White House, Monday, Oct. 4, 2021, in Washington.  (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

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"Our weak national brand left us vulnerable. Voters couldn’t name anything that Democrats had done, except a few who said we passed the infrastructure bill," Stryker wrote. "That bill didn’t overcome their opinions that we have spent the last year infighting and careening from crisis to crisis."

Stryker explained that Democrats don’t seem to understand that voters are "unhappy with the direction of the country" and "believe that the economy is bad."

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Virginia Republican gubernatorial nominee Glenn Youngkin speaks during his election night party at a hotel in Chantilly, Virginia, U.S., November 3, 2021. (REUTERS/ Jonathan Ernst)

Stryker also said he believes voters view Democrats as a party that focuses too much on social issues rather than the economy.

"I would tell them that we have a problem," Stryker told the New York Times. "We’ve got a national branding problem that is probably deeper than a lot of people suspect. Our party thinks maybe some things we’re saying aren’t cutting through, but I think it’s much deeper than that."

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Stryker's warning comes after a Quinnipiac poll in mid-November showed President Biden's approval rating falling to a record low of 36%.

FILE PHOTO: Former U.S. President Donald Trump looks on during his first post-presidency campaign rally at the Lorain County Fairgrounds in Wellington, Ohio, U.S., June 26, 2021.  (REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton)

Those questioned in the poll said by a 46%-28% margin they would want to see the Republican Party win control of the House of Representatives if the midterm elections were held today, with 16% not offering an opinion. And by a 46%-40% margin, those surveyed said they’d like to see the GOP win the Senate majority, with 15% not offering an opinion.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in late November that it is Biden's "intention" to run again in 2024.

Fox News' Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report