Four progressive Democratic senators are telling their colleagues to pivot quickly to economic populism, according to details first shared with Semafor.
“Billionaires and corporate interests have captured our political system, but our party’s anemic response to the rigging of our democracy and economy in favor of the ultra-wealthy has eroded our credibility with working people,” wrote Democratic Sens. Chris Murphy, Adam Schiff, Elizabeth Warren, and Tina Smith in a letter to their Democratic colleagues.
The senators used polling from both Democratic-aligned and GOP-aligned groups to argue that “bland policy proposals” won’t work without calling out “who is getting screwed and who is doing the screwing.”
They advocated for messaging that explicitly targets taxing the rich and increasing the minimum wage. Murphy told Semafor that type of populism is good policy, and “also our party’s path to victory in 2026 and beyond.”