WASHINGTON, Sep 30 (Reuters) – Democrats in tight races for the U.S. midterm elections are increasingly declaring themselves proud capitalists, worried that Republican accusations of socialism and communism could influence decisive undecided voters in November, according to interviews with candidates and an analysis of campaign materials.
This move marks an extraordinary moment in U.S. politics, where Democrats — long operating within a capitalist system as one of the country’s two major parties — now feel compelled to emphasize their commitment to a market economy during the campaign.
Dozens of Democrats in tight races are declaring their support for capitalism in social media posts, public meetings and TV appearances, while President Donald Trump and the Republicans intensify efforts to portray them as dangerous radicals determined to turn the United States into a socialist state.
Sixty Democratic candidates nationwide, at the federal, state, and local levels, including 10 sitting members of Congress, signed a pledge with a new group, the “Promise to America,” declaring: “We are capitalists, not socialists.”
“This is the first time, in my 50 years in politics, that Democrats have had to explicitly declare their support for capitalism,” said Doug Schoen, an experienced party strategist.
Trump and his allies have highlighted the victories of members of the left-wing movement the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and progressive candidates in the Democratic primaries to portray the entire party as socialist.
“It will become a communist country if they win,” Trump said about the Democrats at a Republican convention in Dallas in September.
Democratic leaders reject this characterization as false and aimed at diverting attention from the high cost of living, voters’ top concern.
Although Democrats are favored to retake the U.S. House of Representatives and may also regain the Senate, three Democratic strategists said that Republican attacks could hurt them in some tight races.
“These attacks could affect a sufficient number of undecided voters to negatively impact Democrats in the election,” said Frank Lowenstein, a former Obama administration official and now political consultant.
Republicans point to the DSA and its policies as evidence of extremism within the Democratic Party. The DSA program advocates far-left positions, such as “the end of capitalism,” the push to abolish the police and prisons, and granting amnesty to immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally — all positions unpopular with voters.
SICKLE AND HAMMER
Amish Shah, an emergency-room physician involved in a tight race in the U.S. House from Arizona, is an unlikely target of Republican accusations of socialism.
During his tenure in the Arizona State Legislature, he was seen as one of the party’s most moderate Democrats, occasionally breaking with his caucus to vote with the Republicans.
However, in September, the NRCC (National Republican Congressional Committee) sent mailers featuring a caricature of him in a red suit and wearing a brooch with the hammer and sickle — the symbol of communism — warning about his “radical socialist agenda.”
The attack traces back to a 2019 event co-hosted by a DSA chapter, in which Shah praised U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, who describes himself as a democratic socialist, and his call for a government-funded universal health care system.
Shah, whose race is among those that could determine control of the House, has since taken a more moderate stance on health care, backing a public-option insurance alongside private plans.
The Republican attacks forced the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee to defend Shah. They aired an ad last week highlighting his support for a 2022 anti-drug-trafficking bill, supported by Republicans.
“I am not a socialist. I believe in capitalism as a great tool to promote human prosperity,” Shah told Reuters in an interview.
Mike Marinella, a spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, said Republicans will continue to disclose the voting records of Democratic candidates and earlier statements tying them to policies supported by the DSA. The group has gained more prominence as some Democratic voters have grown frustrated with the party leadership.
Suzan DelBene, a congresswoman and chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said Republicans are resorting to ideological attacks because they cannot defend their record on the economy and consumer prices.
“The Republicans already know they have lost the support of the American people, and that is why they are resorting to desperate attacks that, in fact, have nothing to do with economic issues,” she said in a statement.
The DSA, in a statement, did not directly address the Republicans’ efforts to use its rise to portray Democrats as extremists, instead saying that voters are drawn to democratic socialism due to frustrations over housing, health care, and economic inequality.
