President Donald Trump famously refused to support raising the minimum wage while campaigning at McDonald’s in 2024, rescinded a federal order raising the minimum wage for federal contractors during his second term and picked a Treasury Secretary (Scott Bessent) who staunchly opposed raising it despite being worth hundreds of millions himself.
Now some Democrats are arguing that a focus on the minimum wage could be the key to defeating Republicans in the 2026 midterm elections.
“Democrats have set their sights on federal minimum wage laws to beef up the party’s platform ahead of the 2028 presidential elections,” wrote NOTUS reporter Jade Lozada on Thursday. “Just not everyone in the party agrees it needs to be a pillar of how Democrats address affordability.”
Lozada reviewed the different stances taken by prominent Democrats and Democrat-adjacent politicians on this issue. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) wants to gradually raise the minimum wage to $25 per hour by 2039, while Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) proposed a bill that would raise it to $17 per hour by 2030. Three other top Democrat lawmakers — Sen. Chris Von Hollen (D-MD), Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) — have expressed support for raising the minimum wage without giving specifics.
“Murphy’s bill would require large corporations to pay minimum-wage workers $12 per hour immediately after enactment, with gradual increases up to $25 per hour five years later,” Lozada wrote. “Other employers would have 12 years to reach that wage.”
He added, “The proposal would set the minimum wage thereafter to two-thirds of the national median hourly wage. In contrast, Sanders’ proposal would increase the minimum wage by the annual percentage increase in the country’s median hourly wage.”
In contrast to these Democrats, at least one prominent centrist Democrat has expressed skepticism that working class voters are really focused on that issue.
“Most people in Michigan wouldn’t work for the current minimum wage in the state of Michigan, right?” Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) said when asked about her position. “Like they’re being paid more, and they’re still not able to afford their life.”
She later added, “It’s just, to me, not the top thing that I hear from people, or even in the top 10 that I hear from people.”
Additionally, Lozada noted that there are moderate voices in the party that have expressed reservations about the economic viability of raising the minimum wage.
"Murphy’s $25-per-hour proposal — the companion to a bill from progressive Reps. Delia Ramirez of Illinois and Ro Khanna of California — has faced criticism from some economists and others in conservative and libertarian circles who say such a high minimum wage could lead to layoffs, reduced hours, poor working conditions and low hiring rates as employers look to cut costs,” Lozada reported.
