How to wreck a political campaign
The quickest way to sink a political campaign is for a candidate to do something that confirms the public’s suspicions (or preconceived notions) about them. Once the electorate’s perception locks in, it’s impossible to recover.
There’s plenty of examples, some in recent electoral history. Some:
- Howard Dean’s scream: Confirmed a suspicion that the candidate wasn’t “presidential” enough.
- Biden’s debate: Confirmed concerns about his age.
- Dalmau’s campaign closing: Galvanized pro-statehood voters who saw him as an existential threat.
Seattle’s election
Although she won the race, the crucial weeks prior to the election were a public relations disaster for Katie Wilson.
- Being “weak” on public safety: A disastrous debate performance sealed that deal
- A misconception of “privileged progressive cosplaying as working class”: A hit piece on KUOW claims she dropped out of Oxford, of all places…
These attacks gained incredible traction on social media. Post after post, reel after reel, thousands of comments and views. On sight, I knew it was over.
I don’t believe these attacks. I think Wilson would usher a new era of affordable housing and transit in Seattle. Even then, I cringed at hearing “no comment” on an issue as straightforward as “our parks should be safe and clean”. You would think today’s progressives would understand how unpopular being soft on crime + drug addiction is.
Progressives need to harden on crime
This is a tangent from the original topic, but it’s worth going off about. Answering “no comment” on such a critical question devastated this campaign. It was an electoral atom bomb.
Many voters don’t feel safe in major cities. The numbers show that violent crime isn’t common and property crime rates are around average, if not lower than other major US cities. Buuuuut it’s not about numbers–it’s about vibes. Lived experience feels (note I didn’t say “is”) different. Women face sexual harassment on the streets—I’ve seen it firsthand. In my own neighborhood, there’s been three shootings in just two months. Momma didn’t raise no bitch, but even I’ve had moments where the presence of aggressive, unstable individuals made me feel unsafe.
Progressives must take a firmer stance on crime and public safety. It’s both a problem of principle and an electoral concern. Our parks and sidewalks should be safe, clean, and accessible to everyone. Beautiful spaces for recreation shouldn’t be something only the wealthy can enjoy in their own gated communities. Families should feel confident sending their kids home to school in transit or taking them for a stroll at the local park. That means investing in safe, well-run shelters and public housing where the unhoused can live with dignity. It means incentivizing and fast-tracking affordable housing… not strangling it with overprotective zoning laws and red tape.
Wilson’s agenda generally aligns with these ideas: yet there’s a cultural sensitivity in progressive circles when talking about these issues. These goals aren’t radical, and they’re certainly not incompatible. One can oppose open drug use and encampments while still caring deeply for the unhoused. Real empathy means building a society where everyone, housed or not, can coexist safely and with respect. Sadly, progressive politics sometimes confuses empathy with libertarianism, mistaking hands-off neglect for compassion. True progress demands both compassion and accountability–because the common good matters just as much as some individual freedoms.
To be clear: I don’t propose the Ezra Klein brand of pandering to far-right conservatives. The right’s “solutions” consist of “throw them all in jail” while defunding parks and transit—there’s no overlap there with the ideal of safe, beautiful cities for all. But something in progressive messaging, execution and political culture needs to change in order to address these issues with the urgency they require.