Why I Can’t Get Behind the Politics of Electability

Julia Azari: “We might be approaching peak electability season. Traditionally, there’s a bit of a lull before the general election campaigns really kick off, and there are a few more primaries to go. Abdul El-Sayed won the primary for U.S. Senate in Michigan, and Francesca Hong seems likely to win the Democratic nomination for governor in Wisconsin next week (though, who knows).”

“As I’ve mentioned before, electability tends to be the go-to argument for more moderate candidates endorsed by whatever we might term the party ‘establishment.’ The fact that politicians talk about electability rather than taking actual policy positions isn’t terribly surprising, but it’s still disappointing to see the concept crowd out more substantive arguments.”