# Democrats embrace populism to fight corruption > Facing a second Trump term, Democrats are running against concentrated wealth and corruption rather than culture wars, echoing an older party playbook. - Title: Democrats embrace populism to fight corruption | Shortify - Summary: Facing a second Trump term, Democrats are running against concentrated wealth and corruption rather than culture wars, echoing an older party playbook… - Keywords: democrats, populism, 2026 midterms, corruption, jon ossoff, rob sand, annie andrews, texas, iowa, south carolina, concentrated wealth, trump - Source: The New Yorker — https://newyorker.com/news/the-lede/how-democrats-are-reclaiming-the-politics-of-populism - Author: Benjamin Wallace-Wells - Published: 2026-11-02T11:00:00+00:00 - Read time: 3 min - Topics: democrats, populism, 2026 midterms, corruption, jon ossoff, rob sand, annie andrews, texas, iowa, south carolina, concentrated wealth, trump ## Ann Richards returns to Texas politics In the 2024 midterms, the Democratic Party of Bexar County, Texas released an ad featuring archival footage of Ann Richards, the last Democrat to serve as governor of Texas, speaking in populist terms about the… > There are things in our lives and in this state that are more important than money. ## Democrats shift from culture wars Democrats are trying to introduce fresh faces and change the terms of American politics away from culture wars toward issues of technology, money, and inequality that have reshaped the country. ## Talarico frames the central divide James Talarico, the Democratic U.S. Senate candidate in Texas, often says while campaigning that the biggest divide in the country is not left versus right but top versus bottom. > The biggest divide in this country isn't left versus right; it's top versus bottom. ## Musk and A.I. make populism timely The intrusion of Elon Musk into politics and artificial intelligence hyperscalers into American towns has made issues of concentrated wealth and power especially poignant this election year. ## Trump's corruption becomes a target Donald Trump's tariffs, foreign policy, financial entanglements and shadowy deals have made him vulnerable to charges of using public office for personal gain and being out of touch with Americans' struggles. ## Ossoff attacks the coin-operated system Georgia senator Jon Ossoff has called for a constitutional amendment to reverse Citizens United and forcefully denounces what he calls a coin-operated political system that ostensibly blames both parties but really points at Republicans. > the most corrupt Administration of all time, and everybody knows it. ## Sand runs against party politics itself Rob Sand, Iowa's state auditor and Democratic candidate for governor, takes a different approach, arguing that one-party rule corrupts absolutely and questioning why voters must join a private club to participate in elections. > Can we pause for a moment to talk about how un-American that is? ## Democrats competitive in Republican strongholds Democrats look competitive in Texas, where there has been no Democratic senator since nineteen ninety-four; Kansas, where the drought stretches back to nineteen thirty-two; and South Carolina, by running against war and corruption. ## Trump's wealth grows amid second term One recent estimate suggested Trump's net worth grew by two point two billion dollars during the first year of his second term, while eighty-eight percent of voters were extremely or very concerned about corruption. ## Andrews echoes Trump on the swamp Annie Andrews, a Democratic pediatrician running for Senate in South Carolina, uses Trump's own language, saying Trump was right that the biggest swamp is Washington, D.C., and that insiders handpicked her Republican opponent. > Trump was right. The biggest swamp is Washington, D.C. ## Anti-corruption spending reaches record levels According to a CNN tally, two hundred and seventy-five million dollars has been spent on anti-corruption ads, most of it by Democrats arguing that there is too much money in politics. ## Democrats avoid sweeping policy promises Unlike the Bernie Sanders movement, which coupled expansive left-wing policy with populist appeals, mainstream Democrats like Ossoff and Sand are running on anti-corruption messaging without leftish policy approaches. ## Democrats return to older party tradition These midterms show Democrats pointing toward a more traditionally progressive populism opposed to corruption and concentrated money, echoing an older version of the Democratic Party that predates Clintonism. > the Republicans are selling out to the highest bidder, and that there is more to life than money. ## Key takeaway Democrats are shifting strategy to populist anti-corruption messaging, running competitive races in long-Republican strongholds by attacking concentrated wealth and insider politics.