Six months after a stinging nationwide rejection that handed Donald Trump a commanding reelection and fractured their core coalition, the Democratic Party is turning to a new solution: spending $20 million to figure out why young men don’t like them.

The project, codenamed SAM — short for “Speaking with American Men: A Strategic Plan” – is described in a prospectus obtained by the New York Times. It outlines a massive push to decode the language and culture of disaffected young men, particularly in online spaces, and includes a proposal to buy ads inside video games.

“Above all, we must shift from a moralizing tone,” the document urges.

The effort comes amid widespread Democratic soul-searching after a loss that wasn’t just electoral, but cultural. A recent NBC News poll placed the party’s favorability at just 27 percent, its worst showing in the poll’s 34-year history.

Focus groups show the branding problem is dire. One Georgia man recently summed it up succinctly: “A deer in headlights.” According to messaging consultant Anat Shenker-Osorio, Democrats are consistently described in her focus groups as “sloths,” “tortoises,” and now, apparently, roadkill.

“You stand there and you see the car coming,” the man explained. “But you’re going to stand there and get hit with it anyway.”

Democratic leaders are scrambling to reassemble a coalition that used to be rock-solid: young voters, working-class Americans, Latinos, and Black voters all shifted toward Trump in 2024 – and this time, he won the popular vote, too.

“There is fear, there is anxiety, and there are very real questions about the path forward – all of which I share,” said Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO), who is charged with recruiting candidates to help win back the House in 2026. “We are losing support in vast swaths of the country.”

Even the long-standing gender gap, which typically favored Democrats, flipped in key districts as men swung harder to the right. It’s one of the driving reasons behind the $20 million SAM initiative.

Meanwhile, the party is facing open rebellion from within. Progressive activists are outraged at what they see as a lack of fight. Moderate Democrats are openly warning that cultural messaging – on issues like immigration, gender, and economic elitism – is alienating the very voters the party once claimed as its base.

“We’ve pushed, in so many ways, these people away from our party,” Crow said.

Former DNC Chair Jaime Harrison, who stepped down in February, admitted “The party has to find ways to compete in states where it’s not.”

But instead of barnstorming in battleground counties, Democratic donors are reportedly huddling in luxury hotels, commissioning focus groups and digital rebrand efforts that – to some – look more like anthropology than campaigning.

Democratic pollster Zac McCrary said Trump’s declining approval ratings may create openings in 2026, but warned against reading too much into a potential midterm bounce.

“A good 2026 midterm – we should not let that mask a deeper problem,” McCrary said, adding that the party’s brand is ‘repellent’ in so much of the country.’

He blamed a credibility gap: “Democrats have lost credibility by being seen as alien on cultural issues.”

For many in the party’s activist and base circles, the appetite for bold messaging and confrontation remains strong.

“Voters are hungry for people to actually stand up for them – or get caught trying,” said Shenker-Osorio. “The party is doing a lot of navel-gazing and not enough full-belly acting.”

Whether Democrats will rediscover their spine, or waste millions more studying why they don’t have one,  remains to be seen.