The struggle now is not really between liberal and conservatives, but more like people that are rational and can read the news and people that are duped by a populist leader who is intent on installing himself as autocrat (and succeeding due to this problem). The graphic shows an inverse relation between educational level and support for the GOP. Lighter color indicates less education. The darker colored states did not vote Trump (in general).
About 1/3 of Americans are not smart enough in literacy terms to be able to read the news and make judgments about current affairs.
That said, the Democrats failed to connect with the working person, being too lax on the border and all the bullshit with pronouns. It might too late to make a comeback, but the route is to become a sane party that appeals to the working man.