AFTER 2020, NO BLUE STATE POLITICIAN’S JOB SHOULD BE SAFE: The Far Left Could Be In Trouble in Big Cities.

Maybe playing up racial-identity politics wasn’t such a great idea after all.

There have been signs that the most radical left-wing ideas are failing in extremely blue cities. A Minneapolis referendum to defund the police failed. San Francisco removed its hyper-progressive district attorney in a recall election, and his replacement cleaned house upon taking office. San Francisco voters also threw out three radical school-board members, and the new board reinstated merit-based admissions at a top high school.

In states whose politics are dominated by big cities, Republican candidates have surprised on the upside this cycle. We’ve seen a strong performance so far from Lee Zeldin in New York, who is running for governor on a law-and-order platform as voters are increasingly concerned about crime. Even if he doesn’t win, he could push Republicans over the finish line in competitive House races. And Christine Drazan in Oregon is pulling into the lead against Democrat Tina Kotek, who is essentially promising to continue the progressive policies of unpopular incumbent Kate Brown. Drazan has handled tricky issues such as abortion with skill and has hammered Kotek, who was speaker of the Oregon house, for her record on school closures during the pandemic.

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It’s not written in the Constitution that big cities have to be governed by progressive Democrats. They’ve become dominant in urban politics through years of work and political organizing. Many Republicans saw their electoral success and gave up. But when presented with viable alternatives to progressivism, voters are open to better governance. The Left has gone too far for many voters in many big cities across the country, and it is starting to pay the price for its excesses.

Faster, please.