In last night’s Democratic response to the State of the Union address, Abigail Spanberger didn’t mention Zohran Mamdani’s earthquake election as New York City mayor. But the party clearly learned one of his campaign’s core lessons.
“Democrats across the country are laser-focused on affordability,” the Virginia governor said.
It’s an urgent issue to prioritize. More than a third of all Americans couldn’t cover an emergency expense of $400 without taking on debt. A majority can’t come up with $1,000. Any increase in the cost of living can spell bankruptcy, hunger, or homelessness.
Spanberger skipped over Mamdani in her list of big Democratic wins last year, perhaps driven by swing-district polling or discomfort about our democratic socialist mayor among parts of the donor class. New Yorkers should take no offense. The mayor is focused on the five boroughs, not brandishing his national image.
But Democrats would be wise to learn other lessons from our victory in New York. Talking about affordability without a concrete economic agenda to lower costs confuses the public. And draining the message of class conflict is bad politics.
When Zohran launched his campaign in October 2024, it would have been easy enough to simply invoke the affordability crisis and hang it like an albatross around the neck of any status quo politician, associating himself broadly with change but never saying what he would actually do about it.
Instead, he put forward three headline policies — freezing the rent, making buses fast and free, delivering universal childcare — that became synonymous with the candidate and the campaign. More than a hundred thousand volunteers were able to bring a concrete agenda to the doors. The message wasn’t just “Here’s my resume” or “Here’s what I care about.” It was “Here’s what we can do together.”
Historically, establishment Democrats have been reluctant to commit to anything but the most modest reforms, lest they be…
Auteur: Claire Valdez
