As voters head to the polls Tuesday, do Democrats have the advantage? : NPR

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Among the many voices we hear about this election is that of Faiz Shakir. He is the top policy advisor to independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. He runs the media organization More Perfect Union. He came to Studio 31 this morning. We bring him coffee with a little cream. Is this true? Did we get you – is it good?

FAIZ SHAKIR: Thank you, Steve.

REGISTRATION: OK.

SHAKIR: Good to see you.

INSKEEP: The staff brought it. Glad it matched your order. So how will you read the results from New York first?

SHAKIR: Well, Zohran Mamdani has already caused a massive turnout. If you look back to the 2024 election, Steve, and you ask yourself, what were the challenges for the Democratic Party and the Harris campaign? This is because they did not mobilize traditional constituencies and attract new voters to the polling booths.

INSKEEP: Yeah.

SHAKIR: And that was a – one of the reasons she didn’t win. Here, Zohran Mamdani almost answers the problem. He’s in the primary and now the general election – if you look at early voter turnout in New York, which is already seeing massive turnout, particularly among constituencies – people of color, young people – who were least likely to vote in the last election cycle. And that’s good news.

INSKEEP: There are a few different ways to think about Mamdani’s appeal, and one of them is that he’s a democratic socialist and he has a certain set of policies. But maybe another way to think about him is just that he’s young and talented and different, and therefore he’s interesting to younger people. Which one do you think it is?

SHAKIR: He’s all of those things, and he has an agenda that speaks positively at a time when I think one of the struggles of the Democratic brand is: What are you going to do if I put you in power? What are the answers to the solutions you want to provide? Here’s Zohran Mamdani saying, “Hey, free, fast buses, universal child care, new grocery stores to serve underserved populations. These are the taxes that – we tax the rich more. These are affirmative visions of a society that we wish to have. And I think Mamdani tried to hopefully inspire a lot of other Democrats to campaign on something, not just against Donald Trump.

INSKEEP: Just to be clear, you’re saying these are not token promises. People will expect him to do exactly these things if elected.

SHAKIR: Fortunately, Mamdani is impressive in the sense that he understands the tools that the mayor actually has at his disposal. When he talks about freezing rents, he knows that it is a power that the mayor has. When he talks about expanding bus lanes…

INSKEEP: Yeah.

SHAKIR: …That’s something he’s done before. So I think he understood what are the real authorities that the mayor has and how can I use them to do something for you?

INSKEEP: Although I think I just want to dwell on that for a moment. I mean, the mayor has the power to freeze rent. The city government meddles with rents in New York all the time, and rents are still too high. I mean, rent control doesn’t seem to have worked in New York. Is there…

SHAKIR: Because what…

INSKEEP: …A danger in making these promises that maybe you can’t do much with?

SHAKIR: Well, one of the challenges of a candidate right now – of any candidate – is integrity. When you say you’re going to fight for someone, is it in your bones? Is it in your DNA? One of the reasons Mamdani and so many people – Bernie Sanders is so popular right now – is that even though corruption is all around us in politics – Trump is certainly leading the way in the most corrupt government we’ve seen in our modern lifetimes – here are people of integrity who are saying, we may not agree, but the North Star solution makes your life better. And know that when I am in office, I will not forget you. I’m completely focused on that. You can trust me.

INSKEEP: I want to highlight another aspect of this subject that you are probably very familiar with. Mamdani became a big star on Fox News, perhaps the biggest star after Sean Hannity. It’s on all the time. People are continually being warned about it. He went on Fox News and of course answered some questions. But I’m curious whether you think this kind of intense attention from Republicans is helping him or hurting him.

SHAKIR: Well, you know, nationally it’s a challenge because Zohran Mamdani is running for mayor of New York and he’s done a fantastic job of getting his name out to the people of New York. Now, if you live in Nebraska or if you live in California, if you live in Arizona, you know, why is Zohran Mamdani important to you? Not much. But Fox News decided and the right decided, well, I want to tell you it’s scary – a scary proposition. And I suspect that one of the lessons that comes out of Mamdani’s campaign is that people in Arizona and Nebraska and California will have to figure out how they speak to their own voters to learn from Mamdani’s successes, both in the way he communicated, but also in the fact that he has a substantive agenda that people believe in, trust in and desperately want. Especially since Trump – you know, who runs our economy, I think right now, as the polls suggest, he’s the least popular he’s ever been on the economy – 70% disapproval.

INSKEEP: Let me ask about that, because Trump is unpopular right now, and the Democrats seem to be even more unpopular. And it’s a close race, at least in New Jersey. We don’t know what’s going to happen there. Does it bother you that Democrats haven’t been able to capitalize as much on Trump’s unpopularity?

SHAKIR: We’ll see. I mean, I… you know, you’ll find out what the results of all this were. If you look at the 2024 election, Kamala Harris wins both of those states by six points. So that’s the baseline for this election cycle. If you go back to how Trump – which we did in Trump’s first term, you know, in Virginia – I think the candidate for governor was a Democrat, Ralph Northam. He won by nine points. In New Jersey, they won by double digits during Trump’s first term. So I think you can outperform plus six baselines if that’s how you look at it.

INSKEEP: I guess I just think the Democrats don’t seem to have a very consistent national message at this point.

SHAKIR: Well, yes. You’re right. And I – you know, that’s one of my challenges and problems and frustrations right now is that you should approach this election cycle saying, here are three, four, five things that we, as Democrats, want to do. That said, there is incredible energy and enthusiasm among the audience. Already in Trump’s second term, you’re seeing more activism, action, and grassroots engagement than in Trump’s first term.

INSKEEP: Faiz Shakir, senior policy advisor to Bernie Sanders, thank you very much.

SHAKIR: Thanks, Steve. Good to see you.

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