It’s no secret that the Democrats have long been losing the support of the working class to Donald Trump and the Republicans. To counter Trump’s populist appeal, voices within the Democrats say they need to offer their own version – namely, an ‘economic populism’ aimed at working people.
Those Democrats are all pointing to Zohran Mamdani’s victory earlier this month in the New York City mayoral primary – a win that puts him in prime position to become the next mayor in November’s election. Mamdani’s campaign brought economics to the forefront, prioritising issues around affordability. He offered radical-sounding answers to cost-of-living concerns, including free bus rides, rent controls, childcare and government-run grocery stores. At the same time, he sought to downplay his woke cultural views on race, gender and Israel.
Will Mamdani’s brand of economic populism succeed in bringing back the working class to the Democrats? In a word, no. For one thing, Mamdani, who claimed to speak for poor and working-class New Yorkers, failed to win much support from those very voters in his primary. Mamdani’s opponent, former governor of New York state Andrew Cuomo, beat him by 19 points with those earning under $50,000 annually. Cuomo also won over NYC’s predominantly black neighbourhoods. In contrast, Mamdani’s support was strongest among higher earners and those with a university degree, especially the white millennials of Brooklyn and Queens. Far from reversing Trump’s gains among workers, Mamdani reinforced the Democrats’ position as the party of the university-educated elite.
There are two main reasons why the Democrats’ push on economic populism won’t work. One, because their version of economic ‘populism’ isn’t actually popular with workers. Two, because a focus on economics won’t overcome the Democrats’ association with the woke cultural views that most Americans reject.
Mamdani’s ‘socialist’ economic policies essentially amount to welfarism and redistribution: offering more generous state-provided resources, to be paid for by higher taxes on the wealthy. Apparently, he believes the wealthy are incapable of moving out of New York, and so will provide an endless source of tax revenue.
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Author: Ruth King
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