Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin, a rising moderate voice on Capitol Hill, laid out an “economic war plan” on Thursday for Democrats — a “new vision for the Democratic Party,” as she called it.
The address came just days after democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani sent shockwaves through the political world with his win over former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary, launching a heated discussion over the future direction of the party.
Slotkin called the timing a “coincidence” to kick off her speech at the Democratic think tank Center for American Progress, but added that both the New York City election and President Donald Trump’s decision to bomb Iranian nuclear facilities only served to “clarify why I feel the need to do this speech in the first place.”
“I think we are churning behind closed doors to figure out which camp is going to win,” she said later during a question-and-answer session with Neera Tanden, the president and CEO of CAP.
“We’re like a solar system with no sun. We’ve got a lot of planets, some with their own gravitational pull. We’ve got a lot of stars, but there’s not enough cohering us,” Slotkin said about the current state of the Democratic Party.
Despite her apparent disagreements with Mamdani over policy, she said that the 33-year-old’s win showed the importance of economic issues and cost of living to voters. It’s a theme that Democrats across the ideological spectrum have praised about Mamdani’s campaign.
While Slotkin acknowledged the jockeying for position by various factions in recent days, she also emphasized the need for Democrats to work together to combat Trump’s agenda, which she said was an “existential threat to democracy” that dwarfed all other concerns.
“What do you do when there’s an existential threat to your country?” Slotkin asked. “You get to work on a war plan.”
Her sweeping economic vision addressed five key issues: job security, education, housing, energy and health care.
To address these issues — which poll at the top of Americans’ concerns — Slotkin said Democrats need to be willing to “slaughter some sacred cows” of the party, like comprehensive immigration reform and overregulation of business and housing.
She added that Democrats need to focus on investing heavily in advanced manufacturing, training and public education. Slotkin added that elected officials need to “thoughtfully” introduce regulation targeting artificial intelligence in schools, ban cell phones in K-12 classrooms and focus on holding social media companies accountable “for using algorithms that get our kids addicted to extreme content.”
She said that Democrats also need to focus on providing practical economic solutions that, though imperfect, can build bipartisan support and provide better outcomes for the American people.
“The message that came across loud and clear,” Slotkin said. “People just like in November are still really focused on costs in the economy and their own kitchen table math, and they’re looking for a new generation of leadership.”
Mamdani’s nomination Tuesday evening as Democratic candidate for New York City mayor caused internal turmoil among Democrats nationally. One party strategist told NOTUS on Wednesday: “We are a party of bed wetters. So, yes, people are bed-wetting.”
Many who embraced Cuomo for mayor were taken aback by the success of Mandani’s grassroots operation — and the appeal of his proposals for universal programs, such as free city buses and public grocery stores. Cuomo was favored to win the Democratic nomination until the final days of the race, despite baggage from his handling of COVID-19 and sexual misconduct allegations.
Many in the party declined to comment about Mamdani’s nomination, opting instead to see whether Cuomo decides to run as an independent in the general election.
“The next step is to see what happens next,” Rep. George Latimer told NOTUS on Wednesday.
“I’ll speak about that after I have a conversation,” Rep. Adriano Espaillat, who endorsed Cuomo, said.
But others in the party have embraced Mandani’s economic message as a path forward for the party. Rep. Jerry Nadler was quick to endorse him in the hours after Cuomo conceded Tuesday night.
“Voters in New York City demanded change and, with Zohran’s triumph, we have a direct repudiation of Donald Trump’s politics of tax cuts and authoritarianism,” he said.
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Samuel Larreal is a NOTUS reporter and an Allbritton Journalism Institute fellow.