Money is Blue America’s Biggest Edge in the Fight Against Trump and MAGA
When I started following politics, Republicans enjoyed a clear advantage in raising campaign funds. The GOP was the party of rich people, after all.
Things are different now. Thanks to a growing education divide in party preference, which has sharply accelerated since 2016, affluent Americans are now largely Democratic.
Voters making over $200,000 supported Democrats in the last two presidential elections by more than 10 points, as did nearly half of those in the top 1%. Today, Americans in the top fifth of the income ladder are more likely to vote Democratic than any other income group. In 2020, the counties that voted for Joe Biden accounted for 70% of GDP.
The GOP, in turn, is home to a growing share of downscale voters living in rural areas and small towns that the knowledge economy and its riches have bypassed.
Class Realignment Can Drive Greater Democratic Fundraising
This class realignment isn’t something to celebrate. The rightward migration of working-class Americans poses profound challenges for the Democratic Party—not just to its core identity but also to its ability to win states like Pennsylvania.
Still, there’s one very big upside to the makeover of the Democratic coalition: Our side now has far more wealth to donate to politics than Republicans do.
Money is the biggest advantage Democrats have in fighting Trump and the MAGA movement. This edge can help offset how the Constitution gives undue power to rural voters and the growing role of right-wing judges in tilting the electoral playing field to the GOP.
But the superior wealth of Democrats is our superpower only if we fully use it. And most of us don’t.
Most Democrats Don’t Make Political Donations—But Should
Even as Kamala Harris raises record sums of money, with nearly half coming from small donors, most Democrats don’t make any political donations. And those of us who do donate rarely give as much as we could.
While it’s true that there’s too much money in politics, what’s equally striking is how much wealth is sitting on the sidelines. The top 20% of Americans—a group that’s now heavily Democrat, as I said—have assets of nearly $100 trillion and annual income of over $10 trillion. And yet, all political giving this election by Democrats will likely be no more than $7 billion—or 0.007% of the wealth of the top 20%.
Think about that. Blue America faces an anti-democratic MAGA insurgency that commands a minority of public support yet is close to seizing power, with potentially devastating consequences. And how are we fighting back? By donating small change, relatively speaking, and maybe doing some phone banking. In truth, most affluent liberals are more worried about preserving their investment portfolios than our democracy.
I get why many of us might think that way. We have to look after ourselves and our families. But we also have to protect our country. And whatever happens in November, we don’t want any regrets afterward—that we didn’t do enough, that we could have done more.
I hope you can donate to Blue Tent’s top recommendation for winning this election.
