As this year’s election ends, across the country Republicans are celebrating winning seats in the U.S. House, Senate and the presidency. Democratic Massachusetts Sen. John Velis says the Democratic Party needs to do some serious self-reflection before the next cycle.  

“We need to get back to the center because the far left, ultra progressive message that's out there, it may work in some communities, and if that's the way they want to go about things, good for them,” said Velis (D- Hampden and Hampshire). 

Velis' district includes Westfield, Agawam, Russell, Montgomery and West Springfield — all communities who voted for Donald Trump for president. He says his area of the state is a good example of how people in other parts of the country voted. 

He says it’s the Democratic Party that lost people because of the messaging of issues that felt too far away for most people. They were concerned with how this impacts their lives. 

“This was a landslide, make no mistake about it. There is no way to sugarcoat what happened two days ago if you are a Democrat,” said Velis. “If we don't respond accordingly and push back some of the more extreme voices and have a message that resonates with the middle class, the working class, we will continue to lose."

Political analyst Dr. Matt Motta sees it a bit differently. He thinks the messaging was good for the Harris campaign. But the American people just didn’t want her to be president.

“She was campaigning in all the right spots,” said Motta. “The messages she hit were the message that people wanted to hear. I don't think there's anything she really could have done. And frankly, I disagree with, you know, the senator a little bit, just because I think she did all those things. I think the public just said, 'no thanks.' And that happens.”

Motta says there is still so much to be learned from the data we hadn’t yet collected from this election as ballots are still being counted.