Climate change. Student debt. Diversity, equity and inclusion. The war in Gaza.
These issues are at the heart of progressive politics today. They are the subject of campus protests and online debates. They are also almost entirely absent from the campaigns of Democratic Senate candidates trying to win tough elections this year.
In yesterday’s newsletter, I noted that Democratic candidates are leading polls in six states where President Biden is trailing — and that all six have based their campaigns on populist themes of defending ordinary citizens against the powerful. Today I will look at other campaign themes.
One is the contrast between the nation’s most heated political debates and the top concerns of most voters. These heated debates are shaped by political pundits, campaign donors, and political activists, all of whom are typically highly educated and relatively affluent. The entire electorate often has different priorities.
Student debt and housing costs are a useful comparison. Student debt, a topic the Biden administration has focused on, may seem like the ultimate pocketbook problem. In reality, it’s more of a niche: only 18% of American adults have federal student debt.
This partly explains why, in a recent Harvard University survey of U.S. residents ages 18 to 29, student debt ranked last when pollsters asked respondents which of 16 questions mattered most to them. Israel and Palestine rank 15th out of 16. Climate change comes in 12th – and, again, this is a poll voters under 30. The top three issues were inflation, health care and housing.
It’s no wonder that student debt is largely absent from these Democratic campaigns, while housing — a cost nearly every family faces — is front and center. Senator Jacky Rosen, running for re-election in Nevada, devoted an entire ad to the cost of housing. Sen. Jon Tester’s campaign cites the “housing crisis” as one of Montana’s biggest problems.
An illuminating point about American politics is that those who follow it closely are very different swing voters. In this spirit, I propose four other themes from the senatorial campaigns:
1. Bipartisanship
As polarized as the country is, many voters still crave bipartisanship. In their ads, the six Democrats generally treat Republicans with respect and celebrate collaboration.
Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio boasts of work with the Republicans pass a law on semiconductors. Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin shows videos of Donald Trump and Biden in an ad, and a narrator explains that she worked with both to crack down on Chinese imports. Rosen boasts about being “named one of the most bipartisan senators.”
The issue Democrats are working hardest to distance themselves from their own party on is immigration, which polls show is a major weakness of Biden. Rosen told voters that she “I stood up to my own party to support police officers and get more funding for border security. A Tester ad says he “fought to stop President Biden from letting migrants stay in America instead of staying in Mexico.”
2. Abortion
Abortion is the opposite. This is the issue where the Republican Party is out of step with public opinion – and Democrats are on the offensive.
Rosen describes his likely Nevada opponent, Sam Brown, as “another MAGA extremist trying to take away abortion rights.” Tester, listing the ways he fights for Montanans, says, “We have people who want to take away women’s right to choose. »
That said, abortion remains a secondary issue in most of these campaigns.
3. Patriotism
“Growing up poor, the only thing I really had was the American dream,” said Ruben Gallego, an Arizona congressman running for Senate. in the first line of an ad. “It’s the one thing we give to every American, no matter where they were born.”
This sentiment is typical of the unwavering patriotism of the six campaigns. Gallego highlights his Marine service in Iraq. Veterans’ health care is a theme of some campaigns. An advertisement for Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, who focuses on steel, includes the phrase “Take that, China.”
4. Diversity, subtly
Candidate ads depict a diverse America. When Rosen talks about housing, she points to a group of young, racially mixed couples. A Brown campaign ad about Ohio’s steel industry features black and white workers. In a Baldwin ad, a Wisconsin businesswoman with a European accent praises the senator for his fight against federal rules on cheese making. Gallego talks about her mother’s struggles as an immigrant.
But campaigns view diversity as a natural part of American life rather than a political project. They emphasize the commonalities of Americans from different backgrounds. This is a different approach to race-centered identity politics.
Gallego even gained some notoriety for mocking the term Latinx. It disrespects the Spanish language, he said, and is “largely used to satisfy white liberals.” He banned his congressional office from using the term.
This reminds me of a point made by Steve Bannon, the far-right political strategist: When American politics focuses on race, Republicans — like Bannon and Trump — tend to benefit.
The flip side is that when campaigns focus on the economic class, Democrats have the chance to benefit. You can see this lesson in these six populist campaigns.
Related: Watch campaign announcements of these candidates.
THE LAST NEWS
Policy
-
Justice Samuel Alito told Congress he would not recuse himself Supreme Court cases related to January 6 after flags associated with the “Stop the Steal” movement were flown over his homes. “My wife loves flying flags. I am not,” he wrote.
-
Jurors in Trump’s criminal trial in Manhattan returned home after deliberating for nearly five hours and will return this morning. Learn more about the dull room where they will make their momentous decision.
-
For months, Biden has lagged in national and battleground polls, but the race is still quite closewrites Nate Cohn.
-
Biden called Trump a racist at a rally in Philadelphia. “What do you think would have happened if Black Americans had stormed the Capitol? I don’t think he would talk about graces.
-
Richard Grenell attempted to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in Nevada. He hopes to become Trump’s secretary of state.
Israel-Hamas War
War in Ukraine
Social issues: “Why can’t I break into my new boyfriend’s friendship group?”
Buy a dinosaur: Largest Stegosaurus Fossil Ever Discovered will be auctioned at Sotheby’s.
Lives lived: Although he had no formal training in painting or marine biology, Richard Ellis merged his artistic flair with his knowledge of ocean creatures to create works like the life-size blue whale at the American Museum of Natural History in New York . He died at 86.
SPORTS
NHL: The Edmonton Oilers beat the Dallas Stars to even their series2-2.
Women’s hockey: Minnesota has become the first winner of the Walter Cup after beating Boston 3-0. This is the inaugural season of the professional women’s hockey league.
Golf: THE police dropped all charges against world number 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler, two weeks after his arrest at the PGA Championship.
In the hit Japanese TV series “Extremely Inappropriate!” “, a grumpy physical education teacher boards a bus in 1986 and exits in 2024, where he must navigate a world that no longer accepts sexism and smoking indoors. The show has started a conversation in Japan about changing standards: Some fans, even younger ones, find the scenes set in the past refreshing, while critics call the series retro.
Learn more about culture
-
Mira Nadon, 23, is director of the New York City Ballet and a unique dancer in a generation.
-
Behind the denim curtain: Benjamin Talley Smith You may have designed some of your own jeans.
-
Merchandise – like the New Yorker tote bag or tour T-shirts – dominated fashion for the better part of a decade. Not anymoreSamuel Hine writes for GQ.
-
Bette Nash, Guinness Record holder for the world’s longest-serving flight attendant, has died at age 88. She started flying in 1957 and never stopped. His regular route from Washington to Boston was nicknamed the Nash Dash.
