Hopeless Dems spend $20 million to learn obvious reasons they lost young men! Robby Soave
Robby Soave delivers radar on the Democratic Party's $20 million plan to court young male voters, particularly those who are Gen Z.
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The Hill
an hour ago
- The Hill
Ocasio-Cortez faces test of her political power
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) faces a test of her political influence after endorsing a progressive candidate in the New York City mayoral race. Ocasio-Cortez backed New York state Assembly member Zohran Mamdani on Thursday, pitching him as the best chance to upset former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the front-runner since before he entered the race. Her endorsement is sure to raise progressive hopes and give Mamdani a much-needed boost ahead of the June 24 primary. But it will also draw attention to the strength of her political clout as she positions herself as the next standard-bearer for the Democratic Party's progressive wing and possibly the party as a whole. 'She represents a younger, newer generation of Democratic voters,' said New York Democratic strategist Basil Smikle, adding that the movement she's led has been 'more forward looking with respect to the party, not just locally but nationally.' Observers of the Democratic primary for the mayor's race have been eagerly awaiting news of Ocasio-Cortez's endorsement for weeks. Reports indicated that the Bronx-area congresswoman has methodically reviewed polling and pitches from various candidates on how they plan to defeat Cuomo, who has dominated in name ID and polling. Among the more progressive candidates in the race, her support was coveted as one of the top leaders of the progressive wing since her own major upset win in 2018, making her the youngest woman elected to Congress. She was also credited with significantly improving Maya Wiley's chances of winning the Democratic nomination for mayor in 2021 as she gave an endorsement shortly before the primary then too. While Wiley ultimately lost to now-Mayor Eric Adams (D), her polling numbers jumped from single digits to make her a top contender after Ocasio-Cortez backed her. Ocasio-Cortez ultimately announced her endorsement of Mamdani in an interview with The New York Times the morning after the candidates faced off in the first debate of the race. She said Mamdani has made the best case that he can best Cuomo, showing a 'real ability on the ground to put together a coalition of working-class New Yorkers that is strongest to lead the pack.' Democrats said Ocasio-Cortez has demonstrated her influence in past races in New York and could put it on display again. George Albro, a co-chair of the New York Progressive Action Network, noted her support for current mayoral candidate Brad Lander during his city comptroller race in 2021 as he was trailing in the primary at the time. She and other top progressives appeared in ads backing him. 'He was trailing his opponent, and then they did a number of commercials for him, and he won the comptroller's race because of it, a city-wide race where he wasn't that well-known,' Albro said. 'It will be very impactful,' he added about Ocasio-Cortez's endorsement. But her endorsement in the race also comes at a time when she is taking on a rising profile within the Democratic Party as a whole in the aftermath of former Vice President Harris's loss in the November presidential election. Discontent has been growing among the party's base with the current leadership, as polling has found voters widely split or unsure who their standard-bearer is. Ocasio-Cortez received widespread attention for the 'Fighting Oligarchy' tour that she and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) embarked on earlier this year, fueling speculation of a role beyond representing New York's 14th Congressional District in Congress. Her name has been floated as a possible choice for Senate in 2028, with many Democrats expressing frustration with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), or even president, with the Democratic field in three years currently appearing wide open. New York Democratic strategist Hank Sheinkopf said Ocasio-Cortez is emblematic of the generational change that many in the party are searching for. He added that what happens in New York won't stay there. 'The generational shift is something that matters in New York politics and will ultimately matter around the country,' he said. 'Why? Because what happens in New York reflects national trends, unquestionably so, both culturally, from a media perspective, from a financial perspective, and certainly from a political perspective.' Sheinkopf argued that Sanders is the candidate many young people ideally wanted in 2024 rather than Harris, but Sanders has 'deputized' Ocasio-Cortez, who resonates even more among the voters whom a candidate like Mamdani appeals to. 'It doesn't matter whether he wins or loses,' he argued. 'The fact is that she's lined up with the younger generation of voters.' Democrats also said they don't believe Ocasio-Cortez is taking on much political risk even if the candidate she's backing, who is a significant underdog, falls short. New York Democratic strategist Trip Yang noted Cuomo still had significant inherent advantages in the race, including name recognition, calling him an imperfect but 'strong' candidate. 'Even if [Mamdani] doesn't win, he improves his political standing tremendously and the new progressive movement as a whole,' Yang said. 'At the end of the day, whatever happens, progressives will come out of 2025 looking better than they did in 2021,' he said. Smikle said Ocasio-Cortez isn't likely to alienate any potential followers by weighing in, as her base does not have too much overlap with Cuomo's core supporters. 'I don't think there's a downside [for her] at all,' he said. Smikle said Ocasio-Cortez has also effectively been what polling has shown New Yorkers and Democrats broadly want from their leaders — someone who will stand up to President Trump and fight for their constituents. He argued that New Yorkers don't have a specific ideology of moderate or progressive but just want someone who will 'fight' for them. He said Ocasio-Cortez is one of the few major leaders in the party who has been 'speaking forward,' talking about what the future of Democratic politics and the coalition needs to look like and what ideas should be put forward. 'It's not just playing defense in the moment,' Smikle said. 'It's thinking about what that offense is going to be, what that offense needs to look like. There are not a lot of people speaking about that.'
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
Perspective: From Trump v. Musk to Carlson v. Levin, are Republicans losing sight of the mission?
What started as something like a barroom brawl devolved quickly into a cage fight, which was distressing for those of us who don't drink and don't enjoy mixed martial arts. The symbolism, however, was rich. Just two months ago, Elon Musk and Donald Trump were ringside in Miami watching the Ultimate Fighting Championship; this week, they were the ones pummeling each other while all of social media watched, wide-eyed and open-mouthed. But Trump and Musk are not the only ones sparring. Political brawling has broken out across the country in ways that feel unusual, as if we are just a couple of social-media fisticuffs away from bringing back the great American duel, the kind that killed Alexander Hamilton. Dueling, however, has been called 'the violence of gentlemen,' so maybe we are safe because gentlemen are scarce in the current political landscape. It's not just Trump and Musk. Tucker Carlson and Mark Levin are feuding, so are Ben Shapiro and Matt Walsh, and we're not that far past Shapiro's epic battle with Candace Owens and Marjorie Taylor Greene's heated drama with Lauren Boebert. There are other battles not suitable for mention in a family publication. It's tempting to say that the recent infighting is all within the GOP, and all about divisions between MAGA versus Never Trump, but it's not. Witness the Democrats' piling on Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary under Joe Biden, who is about to scorch Democrats in her forthcoming book. For Republicans, who under Trump have grown accustomed to governing with the gloves off, the infighting may be accelerating because they've temporarily lost their chief rival, the Democratic Party. The fortunes of the Democratic Party have fallen so low that they're spending millions on initiatives designed to win back young men while one of their star contenders for 2028, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, is picking the brains of conservatives on his podcast. Absent a robust foe, Republicans are like a desolate Rocky Balboa with no one to fight, and so have turned on their own tribe. But what is happening is also a predictable result of when politics turns transactional instead of relational. Once the transactions are over, or once the transactions curdle and sour, there's nothing foundational to sustain the human relationship. We've seen this before with Trump, in his transactional relationship with Mike Pence. Many of us had hoped that there was something deeper there with Musk, with whom Trump seemed to have an almost fatherly relationship. It was not coincidence that much of the social media discourse about their 'breakup' was couched in terms of family — either divorce or estrangement. And while it was, on one level, train-wreck, cringe entertainment, like watching 'Housewives' or 'Tiger King,' it was also painful since so many of us know what it's like to have a close relationship implode. Utah Sen. Mike Lee spoke for many when he posted a photo of both men, with the caption 'But ... I really like both of them.' On his radio show Friday, Glenn Beck urged Trump and Musk to reconcile and to keep sight of their shared mission. It is that mission that is too often a casualty when two formerly aligned parties or individuals fall out, whether in politics or in a marriage. A mission can be hard to define; it can be too vague or have too many components. 'Essentialism' guru Greg McKeown says that a 'priority' is one thing, not many, and we risk failure when we set 'priorities.' Maybe that's part of what happened here. Trump and Musk had priorities, and some were in conflict with each other. It's much too early to say that the breakup is permanent; the men have mutual alliances and shared friends who presumably will work hard to bring about a reconciliation. But if the fissure lasts, the relationship that unfolded over the past year — with iconic moments like Musk jumping on the stage at a campaign event and Musk's son trotting after Trump on the White House lawn — was not really a relationship, but a transaction between two powerful men. And Democrats stand ready to reap the rewards.
Associated Press
7 hours ago
- Associated Press
A Virginia Democrat hunts for votes in rural pockets where MAGA has strengthened its grip
CULPEPER, Va. (AP) — Democratic politics in rural Virginia are not of a bygone era, according to Abigail Spanberger. The former congressional representative, now the Democratic nominee in the race to be Virginia's next governor, posts videos online of herself sitting in a car on an interstate highway that goes up and down the Appalachian Mountains. She has toured a small, family-owned oyster shucking and packaging operation along a quiet boat haven on the northern neck of Virginia. And last month, the nominee held a news conference at a small pharmacy in an agrarian hamlet outside of Richmond. In 2020, Spanberger narrowly ran ahead of former President Joe Biden in her congressional district, and she posted her best results by comparison in rural counties that heavily favored President Donald Trump, including Nottoway, Powhatan, Amelia and Louisa, according to an Associated Press analysis. It's a challenge that might be growing more formidable with each passing election cycle. Trump made gains in those counties in 2024, data show, and Republicans think they have solidified a shift in their direction in rural areas. In Virginia, rural residents made up about 2 in 10 voters last November, according to AP VoteCast. About 6 in 10 small-town or rural voters voted for the Republican candidate in the last two presidential elections and the last two midterm congressional elections. Spanberger became the nominee when no other Democrats ran for governor. Her opponent in the general election, Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, was the only Republican who gathered enough signatures to qualify for the top of the GOP ticket, leaving both parties with no contested race at the top of their June 17 primary ballots. A spokesperson for Earle-Sears said in an email that Spanberger's efforts to portray herself as an advocate for small-town Virginians would fall short. 'Rural voters see right through the rhetoric,' said press secretary Peyton Vogel. 'Democrats consistently push policies that hurt energy jobs, raise costs, and grow Washington DC's overreach. That's not a winning message in communities that value freedom, faith, and hard work.' Still, Spanberger seems determined to campaign beyond known Democratic strongholds, vying to winnow down conservative votes in ruby-red parts of Virginia. From the rolling hills of the Piedmont, where Trump won last year by some 20 points, to the Roanoke valley out west, Spanberger is seeking voters in the districts where Democrats once were competitive but Republicans now rule. 'We have to show how we govern,' Spanberger said in explaining her messaging. 'And the governing isn't just standing up to Donald Trump. It is clear and consequential, right?' Last month, Spanberger sat in a booth by the window of Frost Cafe in downtown Culpeper, Virginia, in the Piedmont region between Washington and Charlottesville. As she drank her coffee in the small town that was once part of her congressional district, constituents tapped on the window, pressing their noses to the glass and making hearts with their hands. A young boy hid behind a newspaper stand, peeking up at Spanberger as if she were a celebrity. When his family began to walk away, he knocked on the window and waved. Spanberger's presence in Trump territory comes as Democrats have nationally shown renewed interest in small-town America, launching listening tours in Kentucky, courting Minnesota farmers and looking for other ways to connect. In some ways, rural Virginia feels like Spanberger's home turf. Once a member of the U.S. House Committee on Agriculture, she has built a legacy tethered to touring farms and strolling through small towns where everybody knows everybody. She focused on low-profile, bucolic-minded bills such as expanding broadband, which was incorporated into the bipartisan infrastructure law passed by Congress in 2021. She helped pass another law making it easier for farmers and forestry professionals to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. Some analysts say Trump's pillaging of federal contracts and volatile tariffs have given Spanberger and the Democrats an opening. 'If you look at the trade, if you look at Trump's tariffs, those have a huge impact on the price of agricultural products,' said Stephen Farnsworth, a political science professor at the University of Mary Washington. 'The potential reduction in Medicaid, that's another area where there's going to be a disproportionate impact on rural areas.' Cue Spanberger's eight-point plan to make healthcare coverage more affordable in Southwest Virginia, which was published just as Congress weighs a budget bill that the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates could reduce the number of people with health care by 8.6 million over a decade. Neal Osborne, a Bristol councilman representing the nearly 18,000-person city along the border with Tennessee, said Medicaid expansion and healthcare are top of mind for many people there. He pointed out that 150 people showed up when Spanberger visited Bristol back in January. 'We are a Republican stronghold,' said Osborne, who already has endorsed the Democrat. 'But if you do 2% better with southwest Virginia, that could be your margin of victory in a statewide. ... I am willing to go on a limb to say she will be back in southwest between now and before the election.' It's a strategy Spanberger has tapped before. After winning a tea party district in 2018, which had been represented by Republicans for decades, the moderate Democrat made a point of working on behalf of conservative strongholds in her district. Her ability to connect with farmers, fishermen and agricultural interests helped her keep her seat for three terms. Michael Carter Jr., of Carter Farms, said he was one of those rural constituents. A Black farmer in Orange County, he said that while Spanberger was in office, there was a continual back-and-forth between her staff and his family, which has owned their farm since 1910. He and his father would see her staff at community events. Spanberger's office asked for his feedback on legislation, he said. It was a meaningful relationship he had with a politician, and that meant something to him. 'It's not always the case that small farmers or even African Americans really feel like we get our voices heard,' Carter said. ___ Olivia Diaz is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. ___ The Associated Press' women in the workforce and state government coverage receives financial support from Pivotal Ventures. 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