How Affordability Became the Year’s Defining Political Issue

In this year’s elections, Democrats across the political spectrum built their campaigns around a single word: affordability. It paid off.

Victories by New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, Virginia’s Governor-elect Abigail Spanberger, and New Jersey’s Governor-elect Mikie Sherrill on Nov. 4 underscored how deeply the cost of living resonates with voters. Exit polling showed that concerns over prices and household budgets outranked crime, immigration and abortion among voters’ top issues.