Instead of picking up seats, Democrats have lost them in the US House. Yes, gerrymandering plays a role, but it isn't the whole story. Many democrats made messaging mistakes across the board, underspent on digital, ignored field, and far too often failed to understand the diverse Latino vote and other BIPOC.

To win up and down the ballot, Democrats must fix these 6 issues going into the 2022 mid-terms: here's how they can.

Like many white people, I am behind the curve in true understanding of the subtle and overt forms of prejudice and racism that exist today. As I get older it also means I have a difference in understanding from a generational standpoint that I need to keep in mind. How do I get out of myself enough to understand the perspective a 25-30 year old woman who is a person of color? How about a guy the same age?

What’s good for our forests and planet can also be good for our jobs, communities, and economy. That’s why we’re writing this together—an ex-Democratic political operative and an ex-Republican staff member who want to see mass timber flourish.

Something is wrong. Mass media and social media are increasingly polarized, and the problem of fake news is becoming worse. Our elections were disrupted in 2016 by a foreign adversary using social media misinformation tools and today the facts of a debate are different depending on who you talk to, what media they listen to, and what party they’re in. We need to change our media paradigm.

Or at least, the Republicans are going to call you one.

Some Democrats spend all their time trying to stop this smear, to stop the GOP from defining them by saying no, that’s not us. I want x, not y. Those Democrats usually lose. Instead, they need to focus on their message, not the GOPs, and quit letting them define the terms of the election.