Berniecrats Are Winning in Trump Country: Why Populism Is the Pragmatic Way Forward for Democrats

Since last year’s presidential election, progressives have consistently stated that President Donald Trump’s election was not a victory for right-wing politics over progressive politics, but a victory for populism over the status quo. This, many have argued, is the key takeaway from 2016, which saw the Democratic Party lose control of all three branches of government, along with the majority of state legislatures and governorships.

Not surprisingly, the party establishment has yet to fully accept this verdict, and there remains an obstinate resistance to populism within the Democratic Party’s ranks. Indeed, many continue to insist that the 2016 election was a disaster because Democrats were too progressive, rather than being too much in line with the Establishment.

This perspective was dealt yet another blow this week, however, when two relatively minor elections in the Northeast provided further confirmation that populism is the pragmatic way forward for Democrats.

The first was in New York’s Long Island, where Christine Pellegrino, a progressive and Bernie Sanders delegate at last year’s Democratic National Convention, was elected to the New York State Assembly on Tuesday. The significance here is that just six months ago, Donald Trump won by a whopping 23 points in this Republican-leaning suburban district, where Pellegrino becomes the first Democrat to hold the Assembly seat, according to Newsday. In the Nation, John Nichols summed up this “Berniecrat” candidate and her successful populist campaign:

Pellegrino, a founding member of the group Long Island Activists, which was “born out of the Bernie Sanders movement,” ran an edgy anti-corruption campaign that recognized the mood of voters who are frustrated with politicians of both major parties. [And] it worked. The progressive won 58 percent of the vote her conservative foe’s 42 percent.

The second noteworthy election for Democrats took place in New Hampshire, where Edie DesMarais became the first Democrat to win a state House seat in Wolfeboro, a longtime Republican stronghold in the rural swing state. “This successful effort is the first crack in the Republican majority, and the initial sign of Democratic energy translating into electoral victory in the aftermath of the 2016 election,” declared the New Hampshire branch of the Democratic Party on its official website.

At first glance these two local elections may appear inconsequential, but their implications should be clear enough. These Democratic victories in Trump country obviously signal that a big electoral backlash reminiscent of 2010 may be upon us and that Trump’s toxic brand is beginning to contaminate other Republican candidates. The president’s approval rating continues to drop to historic lows, and even his base — about 30 percent of the electorate, give or take — appears to be shrinking. The chaotic and scandal-ridden first months of Trump’s presidency have generated widespread discontent, and there is no telling how big Democrats could win in the 2018 midterm elections.

Of course, it would be quite a gamble for Democrats to rely solely on Trump’s repellent nature to propel them to victory next year. If we learned anything about political strategy from 2016, it is that going after a deplorable figure like Trump for being deplorable will only get you so far, and that victory is doubtful without a compelling message that appeals to the populist spirit of today. (Though many Hillary Clinton loyalists have maintained that her campaign had a strong and progressive message, consider this: The vast majority of Clinton campaign ads focused exclusively on personality rather than policy — more so than for any other candidate going back to at least 2000.)