New York Democrats are gathering in San Juan, Puerto Rico this week for a political conference. Top of mind is Vice President Kamala Harris’s lost presidential bid as the party looks to regroup.

“New Yorkers are looking for something different. If we have not met their basic needs, and people feel like the city is not livable, that it’s not safe, that it’s not affordable, they’re going to make some different choices,” said state Senator Zellnor Myrie, a Brooklyn Democrat, on Thursday.

Reacting to election results, many state and city lawmakers are asking: what went wrong leading up to Tuesday’s elections?

“I was surprised that Kamala Harris, who had a lot of energy and enthusiasm, didn’t do as well,” said Long Island Democratic Assemblywoman Michaelle Solages. “I think the economy is really impacting people and us as Democrats — we focus on bread and butter issues: child care, education, gas. We focus on those issues, but I think we need to be better about saying the issues that matter to us.”

Others say the answer is clear: voters rejected a series of controversial policies championed by the Left.

“I don’t think the Democratic Party should be surprised,” said Martin Dolan, a Queens Democrat running for Public Advocate. “This has been building for some time. I think dissatisfaction with illegal immigration, the conditions of the major cities and some of the farthest left policies of the Democratic Party have really put the voters off.”

Manhattan’s Democratic Borough President Mark Levine is running for city comptroller. He told NY1 that Republican gains in the outer boroughs made him reevaluate his platform for citywide office.

“They’re telling us they are concerned about public safety, they’re telling us that they care about economic opportunity, they’re concerned about education, they’re concerned about the cost of housing,” he said. “They have not been on board with some of the priorities of Democrats in recent years. If we ignore them, we’re gonna lose some of these voters, potentially forever.”

Democratic State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said he stands by Democrats in New York and had a warning for Republicans.

“I think when you notice that whenever there’s a party in power and voters get crushed, you’ll see this: it ebbs and flows. And I think over the next couple of years, because now the Republicans, they’re going to have the keys to the car. They can’t complain about the direction of the country,” he said.

Meanwhile, Gov. Kathy Hochul pledged she will transform her administration into a watchdog of President-elect Donald Trump’s policies.