New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D.) added his voice to the growing chorus criticizing the Democratic Party for its trouble connecting with voters, saying that it "didn't give them anything to vote for" in 2016.
Cuomo voiced his opinion about the state of the Democratic Party on Monday night at a fundraiser for his reelection bid featuring former Vice President Joe Biden, State of Politics reports.
Cuomo was a key endorser of Hillary Clinton, saying in April 2015 that he "wholeheartedly" supported her bid to earn the Democratic nomination. Now, he is echoing Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) and others by criticizing how the party performed under Clinton's leadership.
"We did lose. It's not that the other side won," Cuomo said.
"It's not like anyone got up that morning and said, 'I'm going to vote for Donald Trump—yay!' It was that the Democratic Party didn't give them anything to vote for. We lost the election," he said.
Cuomo's line of criticism echoes Sanders' recent comments about the Democratic Party's need to change.
"How did it come about that Donald Trump, the most unpopular presidential candidate in the modern history of our country, won the election?'" Sanders said June 10. "And my answer is that Trump didn't win the election, the Democratic Party lost the election."
The Vermont senator lost to Hillary Clinton in a hard-fought Democratic primary and has maintained that Democrats need a more progressive message.
Cuomo is hardly the first to question the direction of the Democratic Party. Republicans followed up their presidential win with a string of special election victories. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) has faced calls to step down from her leadership position, while many in the Democratic Party and the media have scrutinized the Democrats' direction.
Cuomo has been governor of New York since 2011, and his recent moves have fueled speculation that he may run for president in 2020. Regardless, he has vocalized that Democrats should sharpen their economic message to reach more voters nationally.
"The Republican Party became the party of the middle class," Cuomo said.