Combative Centrism and the Fight for the Attention Economy

Historically, Democrats have played by old media rules: secure endorsements, focus on earned media, and treat attention as something to be cautiously managed rather than aggressively pursued. Much of the criticism from the recent Harris 2024 campaign was that she did not attend as many media interviews as one would have hoped. Even Tim Walz has come out and stated that the party played it too safe in 2024, arguing that the campaign’s cautious approach failed to resonate with voters, particularly in swing states.

For many, this admission rightfully fuels frustration given it is too late for their campaign to change their strategy. However, his reflection underscores a broader issue: Democrats must move beyond defensive politics and lean into a strategy that engages voters directly across all mediums, especially on cost-of-living issues that remain top of mind for the electorate. It may be too late for the Harris-Walz campaign, but for Democrats across the nation the fight is just starting.

In contrast, Trump and his movement prioritize constant visibility over curated messaging. Even negative press fuels their cause, reinforcing their image as anti-establishment warriors. This asymmetry has left Democrats at a severe disadvantage. See the graphic from Media Matters that has been haunting just about everyone’s mind (or maybe just my own) for the past week.

Image Credit: Media Matters

However, Trump’s grip on attention is showing cracks. Recent polling from Echelon Insights shows that immigration has fallen to fourth place among voter concerns, while cost of living, jobs and the economy have taken the top two spots. This shift signals a growing discontent among independents and swing voters who are more focused on economic realities than on the cultural battles Trump and his allies push. Democrats have an opportunity to capitalize on this frustration by directly addressing the financial struggles that voters care most about.

Fighting and Moderating at the Same Time

The Biden administration, and Democrats broadly, have been risk-averse in their communication strategy, often opting for "not making news" rather than commanding attention. The assumption that decorum, expertise, and disciplined messaging alone can compete with spectacle-driven politics has proven flawed.

Pollster Patrick Ruffini recently coined the term "combative centrism" to describe what could be a winning strategy for Democrats opposing Trump. As the Echelon polling states, more than 80% of Democrats want the party to be more combative against Trump, while more than twice as many Democrats want the party to move to the center versus the left. This compelling data suggests Democrats don't face a choice between fighting harder or moderating—they need to do both simultaneously.

The Battle for Attention

As Chris Hayes has noted, attention is no longer something that media institutions distribute—it is something that must be actively earned. The modern political battlefield is not about waiting for favorable headlines; it is about shaping the conversation in real-time. This means not only responding to crises but creating moments that demand public focus. It means engaging with emerging digital communities rather than relying solely on traditional media channels.

Democrats can only capitalize on this opportunity if they fundamentally rethink their approach to economic messaging. The current Democratic strategy at times fails to break through in an attention economy that rewards simplicity and confrontation. Combative centrism requires Democrats to distill complex economic realities into straightforward messages delivered with a willingness to directly challenge Republican economic claims, such as that broad, across the board, “tariffs will make America rich,” when decades of research assert and find that tariffs add costs to goods and households.

The economic landscape is particularly favorable for this approach now. Recent consumer confidence trends show a partisan divide—with Republicans expressing economic optimism that far outpaces Independents and Democrats. The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index dropped 11% in mid-March to 57.9. Democratic consumer sentiment has hit its lowest recorded level, matching or falling within the range seen during the 2008-09 financial crisis. Meanwhile, Independents saw a sharp 10-point decline, further widening the perception gap.

Image Credit: University of Michigan

This perception gap creates an opening for Democrats to connect with swing voters, especially given the sharp decline we are seeing in Independents. By acknowledging their economic anxiety while offering practical solutions that contrast with Republican economic nationalism.

Making it Stick

What would combative centrism look like when applied specifically to economic messaging? The most effective version of this approach would focus on specific affordability issues that directly impact voters' daily lives. Housing costs continue to consume an ever-larger share of household budgets—a perfect opportunity for Democrats to contrast their supply-focused solutions with Republican inaction.

Healthcare expenses remain a top financial concern for American families—Democrats should be looking to increase the number of Doctors in this country, repeal certificate-of-need laws, and more reforms you can find detailed here. This creates an opening to highlight how Republican efforts to cut would exacerbate economic insecurity. Grocery prices, utility and energy costs, and childcare expenses provide additional opportunities to connect economic policies to kitchen-table concerns.

Many Democratic strategists continue to believe that detailed policy proposals and careful nuance will naturally attract voter attention. The reality is that in an information-saturated environment, economic messages must capture attention through provocative framing and persistent repetition before their substance can stick with voters.

This is difficult to manage, given the online sphere where conversations occur are being inundated with bots at record pace, fueling a manufactured perception of economic reality, as Kyla Scanlon has recently written about—which I highly recommend. One way to combat this is by maximizing the use of visual media and having elected officials show their faces while highlighting their economic messaging points for the viewer.

Winning Back the Obama-Trump-Biden-Trump Voter

Congressman Jake Auchincloss is a representative who has recognized the need to nail down a message and do so fast. He identifies swing voters focused on cost of living as the critical demographic Democrats must recapture: "If you are a voter who went Obama, Trump, Biden, Trump, and you're walking to the polls and your number one issue is cost of living, boy, we'd better win you back."

These Obama-Trump-Biden-Trump voters don't follow politics obsessively, but they notice when their mortgage payments, grocery bills, and healthcare costs eat up more of their paycheck. By focusing relentlessly on cost of living issues, Democrats can break through the attentional barriers that have locked them out of meaningful communication with these voters. This strategy acknowledges the fundamental paradox of political messaging today: the issues that drive the most attention often matter least to decisive voters.

Democrats have a rare opportunity to dominate this economic conversation while their opponents remain distracted by more emotionally engaging but less electorally productive fights. Republicans continue making endless concessions for Trump's attention-grabbing but economically incoherent policies, while the far left pursues messaging that captivates their base but alienates the broader electorate (think of slogans like “Defund the police,” “Eat the Rich,” [which basically became anyone owned a home] or much of the rhetoric from 2020 that has left a stain on the overall party). This creates an attention vacuum on kitchen-table economic issues that combative centrism can fill.

By hammering home cost-of-living messages consistently across all platforms - even as these messages generate less viral engagement than cultural battles—Democrats can gradually reclaim the economic narrative. The approach requires discipline and patience, qualities often scarce in the modern attention economy, but potentially decisive in rebuilding a sustainable electoral coalition.

Steps in The Right Direction

I will say, I have noticed a shift in online digital communications from Democratic institution-backed accounts, with an increase in engagement on their media platforms in ways that mirror typical lay users. They are posting less formally, more frequently, and responding actively—especially during recent weeks filled with economic news on market volatility and tariff uncertainty.

More elected officials should follow this lead. Speak to your voters as equals and share in their frustration over the continued burden of rising costs. Show up and fight for them—because if you don’t, you can’t blame them when election season comes and they don’t show up to fight for you.

Part of this is becoming more online and engaged. For example, Governor of Colorado, Jared Polis, is heavily online, a self-described ‘gaymer,’ who effectively uses Twitter to engage with his audience, and other platforms such as Reddit and Twitch. But, he also has good policies and understands that the cost-of-living is a major concern for his constituents, and talking about the issue, plus ways to combat it is how you can maintain and grow your base.

Another recent example of an elected official who is moderating on some of their views to combat the rising affordability crisis is Representative Ro Khanna. He recently came out as a Yes in My Backyard, or YIMBY advocate, online, and became a co-sponsor of SB 79 which allows for multi-family housing near transit stops, breaking down outdated zoning restrictions. Balancing moderation with assertive messaging is key to achieving combative centrism.

The Party That Masters the Attention Economy Will Win

The 2026 midterms will test whether Democrats can execute this strategic shift. If they continue approaching economic messaging with technocratic caution, they risk ceding the economic narrative despite advocating policies that would more effectively address voters' cost-of-living concerns. If, however, they embrace combative centrism—fighting aggressively for practical economic solutions, they have an opportunity to reestablish themselves as the party of economic opportunity for working Americans.