Dem
47
GOP
53
In New York (and, to a lesser extent, in other states), Democrats are changing their strategy. Instead of attacking Donald Trump, which doesn't seem to work, they want to capture his winning issues and make them their own. If the voters care about cost of living, the Democrats should make it clear that their key issue is cost of living and they can deliver on it. For example, Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) wants to send income-eligible New Yorkers a $500 check to help with the cost of living. She also wants to expand the state's child tax credit and make child care more available and affordable. This is a far cry from talking about a Green New Deal and certainly less satisfying to well-off progressives, but it targets people who have the votes.
On crime, perpetually a Republican issue, she wants to improve public safety on mass transit and make it easier to have mentally unstable people involuntarily hospitalized, something that is popular with voters but not at all popular with the ACLU. Concrete measures like this show that Democrats got the message.
Another issue Hochul has some sway over is sanctuary policies. They protect undocumented immigrants. The state could change them and not get in the way when the feds attempt deportations. Not getting in the way is a rare potential win with the voters that is free. It might even save money. It is hard to be "tough on crime" while protecting people who have violated immigration law. And the voters want "tough on crime."
Housing costs are a big issue. That can be addressed by the legislature in many ways, one of which is making it harder for communities to block high-density housing. By allowing more housing units to be built per acre, the supply will go up, which will (eventually) bring costs down. Subsidies are also in the toolkit.
Another area that seems to resonate with a large majority of voters, including working-class voters, is reproductive health. Democrats are going to work on that.
Many of these are economic issues, and if the problem is largely cultural issues, Hochul and other Democratic governors might need to get into a big public fight with progressives on an issue that is dear to the progressives but not so important for most voters. Potential areas are sanctuary laws, bathroom laws, Gaza, defunding the police and more. Just loudly standing up to the progressive wing could yield real progress in convincing working-class voters that Democrats are not captives of the progressive wing (anymore). Will that cost votes on the left? It is possible, but the next 2 years of the Trump administration may grudgingly convince many progressives that the worst Democrat is still a whole lot better than the best Republican and that staying home and sulking is going to result in a Republican win and horrific policies that they abhor. President Vance? President DeSantis? What's not to love? (V)