Hans Nichols
Senate Democrats have invited New York Times columnist Ezra Klein and Democratic data guru David Shor to talk to senators at their annual one-day issues retreat on Wednesday, sources tell us.
Why it matters: Democrats are still processing how they lost the 2024 election and are looking for new ways to appeal to a changing electorate that neither party clearly owns.
- Klein, whose podcast is a big hit on the left, will have a dialogue with senators at the Mount Vernon retreat, with an opportunity for them to ask questions, according to Klein and two people familiar with the matter.
- Shor, who has been a consistent critic of his party’s ability to connect with young men, will share his polling deck on what the numbers actually say. (It’s not pretty.)
- A spokesperson for Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), who chairs the steering and policy committee and organizes the retreat, declined to comment. Klein and Shor will appear separately.
Zoom in: Shor has said he wants to use data “to listen to voters and understand this moment in politics.” (Request the deck.)
- He briefed Democratic chiefs of staff last month and has been sharing his presentations with donors.
- In 2024, he estimates there was a 23-percentage-point swing against Democratic candidates among immigrants, which was especially pronounced among Hispanics who consider themselves conservatives.
- He’s frightened by the surge of conservatism among young people — especially dudes.
The intrigue: Klein said something “is wrong in the Democratic Party” when he hosted Shor on his New York Times podcast in March.
- “Democrats are losing working-class voters. They’re seeing their margins among nonwhite voters erode and vanish. They’re losing young voters,” Klein said in his introduction.
- Klein’s new book, “Abundance,” challenges liberals to create a more dynamic and prosperous society by cutting regulations and embracing new technologies.
- The book, co-authored with The Atlantic’s Derek Thompson, exhorts progressives to think long term and discard an anti-growth mentality on issues like housing and energy.
- “I’m thrilled there’s so much interest in the ideas of ‘Abundance!'” Klein told us.
The bottom line: When Klein speaks, many in the Democratic Party listen.
- That was true when he warned about President Biden’s age in February 2024 and through the Democrats’ tumultuous summer when they ultimately jettisoned Biden and settled on Vice President Harris.