Democratic candidates have focused on affordability. But some party leaders say they also need to talk about democracy, especially if President Trump continues making unfounded claims about election fraud.
Transcript
JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
Democratic candidates have been trying to stay on message ahead of the midterms, and that message has been to talk nonstop about affordability and cost of living issues. But some party leaders think democratic candidates might also need to start talking about democracy, especially if President Trump continues to make unfounded claims about election fraud. NPR’s Ashley Lopez reports.
ASHLEY LOPEZ, BYLINE: Democracy is ironically a tricky issue for Democrats. On one hand, Trump tried to overturn his 2020 election loss, and many Democrats fear he will meddle with the midterms, too. But on the other hand, recent polling found that for the first time in more than 15 years, more voters say they trust Democrats on the economy than they trust Republicans. Lindsay Owens with Groundwork Action says Democrats need to lock in on this rare advantage.
LINDSAY OWENS: And so I think it would be very wise for Democrats to continue to stay laser focused on President Trump’s mismanagement of the economy, but to go one step further and try to cement and press their advantage on cost of living and affordability issues, which are top of mind for Americans right now.
LOPEZ: Groundwork Action pushes for center left economic policies, but many other activists working to get Democrats elected agree with this line of thinking. Like Amanda Litman with the group Run for Something. She says Democrats can tackle things like gerrymandering, campaign finance and voting rights once they are in office, but they shouldn’t shift campaign strategies now.
AMANDA LITMAN: It’s a really hard sell for someone to hear ending gerrymandering will make your housing more affordable. That’s like a three-steps-removed argument. And if what it takes to elect pro-democracy leaders is for them not to talk about democracy, that’s fine.
JANE KLEEB: Operatives who think that voters are only thinking about one issue are not out knocking doors or talking to folks.
LOPEZ: That’s Jane Kleeb, a vice chair for the Democratic National Committee. What issues to highlight is often framed as a choice between one or the other. In the 2024 election, for example, she also heard that democracy was a distraction and a loser issue. But she found that voters cared about multiple things at once, and that included democracy.
KLEEB: And it turns out that that was a fundamental issue that was motivating people, and that might not have been something that they were telling exit pollers (ph) or it wasn’t something that was coming up on exit surveys or polling, but it was a fundamental value that people had in their guts and in their hearts.
LOPEZ: Part of the reason this is tricky for the party is that the democracy issue has been ill-defined, says Nathan Johnson, who is running as a Democrat for Texas Attorney General. For years now, Democrats have been talking about issues like voter suppression when they talk about democracy.
NATHAN JOHNSON: Which absolutely has happened, but it also has not happened at levels that really command the public attention. So as a stand-alone issue, just talking about preserving our democracy is not overriding the price of a box of cereal at the grocery store or the perception that we’re all being manipulated by large, powerful corporations.
LOPEZ: Johnson says telling voters that they should care about democratic institutions because it ultimately affects prices could be a way to talk about democracy and the economy at the same time. Amanda Litman, with Run for Something, says sure, this kind of messaging could work, but it’s worth remembering some voters just aren’t as invested in institutions.
LITMAN: So, like, young people don’t believe that democracy works for them, in particular. They just – they don’t. It hasn’t proved that out. I think that the best campaigns can really argue, why should a voter want you to win?
LOPEZ: But for some voters, defending democratic institutions is important, and Kleeb argues the party should be talking to them about those concerns. And she also says Democrats might not have much of a choice. They may need to fight on the issue of democracy because President Trump is going to keep casting doubt on elections.
Ashley Lopez, NPR News.
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