Politics

The rural Democrats who say their party has affordability all wrong

Published

4 months ago

March 7, 2026

Most Democrats think their key to winning back control of Congress in the midterms will be selling voters on an affordability agenda and bashing President Donald Trump’s handling of the economy.

But some in their party — running long-shot campaigns in rural regions against Republican incumbents — say all the affordability talk has lost the plot.

“Democrats on a national level have discovered ‘affordability’ as a winning strategy, as some magic bullet that’s going to win them elections all over the country,” Hallie Shoffner, who won the Democratic Senate primary in Arkansas earlier this week, told Blue Light News in an interview.

“Established D.C Democrats like [Senate Minority Leader] Chuck Schumer [are] talking about affordability, and I’m sorry, but everybody in Arkansas is going to give him the side eye, because what does he know about affordability?” she added.

A spokesperson for Schumer said in a statement that he “knows that working families are being crushed by higher costs because of Donald Trump’s failed policies and his corrupt bargain with big corporations. That’s why Leader Schumer and Senate Democrats have been fighting to lower costs for people on everything from housing to energy to health care.”

After stinging defeats in 2024, Democrats bounced back in 2025’s off-year elections when Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger, New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani sailed to victory, each behind a campaign that centered on pocketbook issues and sought to frame Democrats as the party that could bring down prices for everyday Americans.

Now, party leaders want to ride that messaging into November amid falling approval of Trump’s handling of the economy. Spanberger was a special guest at House Democrats’ annual retreat last week, where she gave her advice for how to hammer an affordability message just one day after she skewered Trump over cost-of-living concerns during the Democratic rebuttal to his State of the Union address. And Republicans are increasingly worried that the outlook on the economy is weakening amid rising gas prices stemming from the war in Iran.

But some rural Democrats still aren’t convinced that the party is striking the right tone.

“It feels disingenuous,” said Callie Barr, who is running to flip Michigan’s 1st Congressional District.

“The standard of living for most folks in rural areas like mine has been declining for the past 40 years under both administrations,” Barr said. “And then all of a sudden, it’s like, ‘Oh, affordability is now a talking point, maybe I can win an election off of it, I’m going to start using it in everything.’”

Barr and Shoffner said they hope to see national Democrats put the money where their mouth is by investing in “long-shot” races like theirs. “My hope is that actually there’s real teeth behind this, because I think people just don’t believe it,” Barr said.

Each has an uphill battle in their own right. Shoffner is running in Arkansas against incumbent Republican Sen. Tom Cotton, who has served in the Senate since he defeated Sen. Mark Pryor in 2014 — the last time a Democrat held the seat. Barr is running in a rematch against GOP Rep. Jack Bergman, who beat her by more than 21 points in 2024.

“It makes sense for the Democratic Party to reinvest themselves in places like us, like Arkansas, and give candidates like me with these gray-collar backgrounds a seat at the table — because I’m going to be honest with you, they might learn something about what it really means to talk about affordability,” said Shoffner, a sixth-generation farmer who had to shut down her family’s farm when she realized it couldn’t make money.

That’s similar to messaging that’s been championed by Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-Wash.). The rural auto shop owner who flipped Washington’s last red district in 2022 has vocally criticized her party for being out of touch with the middle class.

“When you say affordability, people roll their eyes,” said Michael Ceraso, a Democratic strategist working with both candidates who is an alum of Bernie Sanders’ 2016 presidential campaign. “In many of the areas [where] affordability has been a crisis, Dems aren’t investing or building infrastructure to do anything to mobilize human beings in those areas.”

The DNC last year announced a new program that gives $17,500 per month to each state party and an additional $5,000 per month to those in states run by Republicans, and the party this year has been buoyed by a string of overperformances, including in ruby-red districts. But much of the attention has focused on the most competitive races across battleground states.

Of course, it can also be a shrewd political tactic to blast the Democratic Party — which boasts a roster of stars from liberal, urban areas who remain deeply unpopular in conservative, rural ones. But Barr isn’t running her campaign with any labels that may be tied to her party ID. “Maybe you’re running on a ticket, but that shouldn’t be your whole identity,” she said.

“When I meet people, they’ll say, ‘Oh, what ticket are you on?’” Barr added. “And I always start with, ‘Well, I’m an American.’”

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Politics

Support for Iran’s team – but not for regime

Published

4 hours ago

June 22, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

LOS ANGELES — The political tensions surrounding Iran’s national soccer team were on full display Sunday at SoFi Stadium, where Iranian American fans loudly booed during the playing of Iran’s national anthem before the team’s World Cup match against Belgium.

Among the crowd were several supporters displaying Iran’s pre-revolution Lion and Sun flag, a symbol associated with opposition to the current regime. FIFA prohibits the flag inside tournament venues, but some fans carried it anyway — and at least one supporter waved it during the anthem in an act of defiance.

Conversations with Iranian American fans at the stadium in Inglewood revealed a consistent message: Their protests were directed at Iran’s government, not at the players representing the country on the field. An Iranian American man from Seattle who gave his name as Majid said that he appreciated the opportunity to “confront the tyrannies that are happening.”

“Iran is hostage for the past 47 years or so to a regime that is promoting terrorism and chaos in the region,” he said. “For the team, we support them. But the anthem, the flag — we don’t support it.”

That distinction was evident throughout the match, which ended in a scoreless draw. While the anthem drew intense jeers, Iranian players received loud cheers on corner kicks and takeaways.

The game, held amid U.S.-Iran talks to end the monthslong war between the two countries, was the second of two matches Iran played in Los Angeles, home to the largest Iranian community outside of Iran. Both ended in draws.

Politics

‘Don’t count on me to say bad words’

Published

6 hours ago

June 21, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

The French minister for sports, Marina Ferrari, was in New York City to support her national team, which will play its second match tomorrow against Iraq. On Monday, she dropped by the French consulate across from Central Park for an event organized by Business France to discuss the opportunities this year’s three-country World Cup represents for French and American companies.

Panelists included French Football Federation President Philippe Diallo, New York City Economic Development Corporation interim CEO Jeanny Pak and representatives from the NFL and the New Orleans Saints, which are playing the first ever professional (American) football game in France this fall at a stadium in the Paris suburbs.

In prepared remarks, Ferrari talked about Franco-American cooperation, not just for major sporting events, but also for America’s 250th anniversary.

“France will be, as it always has been, at your side,” she said.

In an interview afterwards, Ferrari answered questions in English about politically outspoken French footballers, Qatari influence in French sports and the beautiful game being divided into quarters by TV commercials during World Cup “hydration breaks.”

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

What do you think of football becoming a four-quarter sport instead of a sport of halves? Are the Europeans concerned that this World Cup has made it into a four-quarter sport?

In France, we have been working with the broadcaster and they took the engagement not to put advertising during those pauses. For us, it’s important. When we organize in the future such a competition — with the weather and with the climate change — we will have to adapt the competition. So I understand clearly why those times now exist, but in France we take care about not pushing so much advertising during this time.

You talked about sports uniting. What do you think of Kylian Mbappé and others on the team taking stances against the far right?

I think a player is a citizen like anyone, so they can express their feelings, their political views, or their opinions. It is not forbidden — but, while playing, stop when you are wearing the shirt of France. But I think they are free to do that.

Paris 2024 was such a successful Olympics. What have you talked to Americans about to pull off a World Cup and an Olympics? And how are you meeting that same level for the Winter Olympics in 2030?

I think that we’ve got to think together about the future of these Olympic Games in winter, because you know, with the climate change, having snow in the future is more and more uncertain. So we’ve got to think, how do we produce snow in the future without taking water from the consumption of the citizens. So we have a lot to do on that, because in the future I think that only a few countries will be able to organize again [Winter] Olympics and Paralympics, so we’ve got really to create a new model, a sober model for the future and for the next generation.

Are you concerned about Qatari dominance of French domestic football, given the country’s sovereign wealth funds ownership of champion club Paris Saint-Germain?

We are proud of having Paris Saint Germain. I hear this bad buzz, blah blah blah, the investors, etc. I think we are lucky to have such a club, so don’t count on me to say bad words.