WASHINGTON — Anger and soul-searching took hold of the Democratic Party on Nov 6, after US Vice-President Kamala Harris suffered an election loss that left some party officials and voters dumbfounded.

Harris was the self-styled underdog against her Republican rival, Donald Trump, having joined the race a little over three months ago, but the nature of her loss has some Democrats asking questions about the future of the party.

The sharpest criticism contained accusations that the party had lied to its supporters about US President Joe Biden's mental fitness until a disastrous TV debate with Trump in June raised alarm bells and ultimately led to the President exiting the race.

One Democratic donor asked: "Why did Joe Biden hold on for as long as he did? He should have not concealed his (health) and dropped out a lot sooner."

Biden, 81, has said privately he thought he was the only Democrat who could beat Trump, and vowed publicly that he was fit to be president for another four years. When he dropped out of the race in July, he said he had decided it was "in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down."

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