By Tim Reid
WASHINGTON, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Democrats in competitive midterm races are increasingly declaring themselves proud capitalists, worried that Republican accusations of socialism and communism could sway critical swing voters this November, interviews with candidates and a review of campaign materials show.
The effort represents an extraordinary moment in US politics, where Democrats who have long operated within a capitalist system as one of the country's two major parties now feel compelled
to emphasize their commitment to a market-based economy on the campaign trail.
Dozens of Democrats in tight races are declaring their support for capitalism in social media posts, town halls and TV appearances as President Donald Trump and Republicans intensify efforts to cast them as dangerous radicals bent on turning America into a socialist state.
Sixty national, state and local Democratic candidates, including 10 sitting members of Congress, have signed a pledge with a new group, Promise to America, declaring "we are capitalist, not socialist."
"This is the first time in my 50 years in politics that Democrats have had to explicitly declare their support for capitalism," said Doug Schoen, a veteran party strategist.
Trump and his allies have highlighted victories by members of the left-wing Democratic Socialists of America movement and progressive candidates in Democratic primaries to portray the whole party as socialist.
"It's going to be a communist country if they win," Trump said of the Democrats at a Republican convention in Dallas in September.
Democratic leaders dismiss the characterization as false and designed to distract from the high cost of living, voters' top concern.
Although Democrats are favored to win back the US House of Representatives and could also retake the US Senate, three Democratic strategists said the Republican attacks could hurt them in some close races.
"These attacks could impact enough voters on the margin to potentially affect Democrats negatively in the election," said Frank Lowenstein, a former official in President Barack Obama's administration and now a political consultant.
Republicans point to the DSA and its policies as evidence of extremism within the Democratic Party. The DSA program advocates for far-left positions such as "the end of capitalism," a push to scrap police and prisons, and issuing an amnesty for immigrants in the US illegally - all unpopular positions with voters.
HAMMER AND SICKLE
Amish Shah, an emergency room doctor locked in a tight Arizona House race, is an unlikely target for Republican accusations of socialism.
During his time in the Arizona state legislature he was viewed as one of the party's most moderate Democrats, even occasionally breaking with his party to vote with Republicans.
Yet, in September the NRCC sent mailers with a caricature of him in a red suit with a hammer-and-sickle pin, a symbol of communism, warning of his "radical socialist agenda."
The attack stems from a 2019 event co-hosted by a DSA chapter, where Shah praised US Senator Bernie Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist, and his call for government-funded universal healthcare.
Shah, whose race is among contests that could determine control of the House, has since adopted a more moderate position on healthcare, backing a public insurance option alongside private plans.
The Republican attacks forced the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee to defend Shah. They ran an ad last week highlighting his support for a 2022 Republican-backed anti-drug trafficking bill.
"I'm not a socialist. I believe in capitalism as a great tool for promoting human prosperity," Shah told Reuters in an interview.
Mike Marinella, a National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman, said Republicans would continue to publicize Democratic candidates' voting records and past statements that tie them to policies backed by the DSA. The group has gained greater prominence as some Democratic voters have grown frustrated with the party's establishment.
Suzan DelBene, a congresswoman and chair of the DCCC, said Republicans were turning to ideological attacks because they could not defend their record on the economy and consumer prices.
"Republicans already know they’ve lost the American people, and that’s why they are resorting to desperate attacks that aren’t actually about the pocketbook issues," she said in a statement.
The DSA in a statement did not directly address Republican efforts to use its rise to portray Democrats as extremists, saying instead that voters are drawn to democratic socialism because of frustrations over housing, healthcare and economic inequality.
DANGERS FOR DEMOCRATS
With Trump's approval ratings at record lows and voter frustration over inflation and the Iran war growing, Democrats are well positioned to make gains in the midterms, analysts say. Yet, Democrats remain vulnerable to accusations they are outside the political mainstream.
The party's leftward shift on cultural issues over the past decade has cost it support among many working-class voters, according to surveys conducted after Trump's 2016 and 2024 victories. Polls have also found that many voters view socialism negatively, helping explain why Republican attacks pose a potential danger to Democrats.
Even so, a Reuters/Ipsos poll published last week found registered voters favored Democrats over Republicans by 43% to 35% in the congressional ballot.
COMMUNIST COMRADE
Reuters spoke to five Democratic candidates in tight races accused by Republicans of being socialist, communist or dangerously radical. Though their campaigns have focused largely on the high cost of living, they have increasingly been using town hall meetings with voters, media interviews, and social media to stress they are capitalists.
The five US House candidates interviewed were Shah, Jessica Killin in Colorado, Pia Dandiya and Eliott Rodriguez in Florida, and Representative Kristen McDonald Rivet in Michigan, who is seeking reelection.
Rivet and Killin have bolstered their pro-capitalist stance by signing the anti-socialism pledge launched by Promise to America. The group was formed by moderate Democrats in June after a series of democratic socialist primary victories raised concerns within the party about its political direction.
"Our aim is to get more candidates for Congress and local officials to proudly proclaim they are capitalist and patriots," Felix Frisch, the group's director, said in an interview.
Rivet said she signed the pledge to underscore her support for capitalism and fiscal responsibility. Her Republican opponent, Tom Smith, has dubbed her "communist comrade Rivet" for her 2023 vote backing incentives for a Chinese-owned battery parts plant in Michigan.
"Republicans think they can take out candidates in marginal races by screaming socialism at the top of their lungs," Rivet told Reuters.
TURNING THE TABLES
For Rodriguez, a former television journalist standing as a House candidate in South Florida, the attacks carry an added layer of irony: the son of Cuban immigrants is being branded a socialist in a community shaped by generations of exiles who fled or opposed Cuba's communist government.
His Republican opponent, Representative Maria Elvira Salazar, also a Cuban American, says voters face a choice between her and "a socialist," a term Rodriguez told Reuters is often conflated with "communist" by Cuban Americans.
He has sought to rebut the attack by playing up his family's Cuban roots and going on the offensive. He argues Salazar should be considered a communist for not criticizing Trump's recent moves to limit some media outlets from White House coverage.
"That's what communists do in places like China, Cuba, North Korea," Rodriguez told Reuters. "I am the product of capitalism and free enterprise."
(Reporting by Tim Reid in Washington, editing by Ross Colvin and Alistair Bell)
