Democrats easily won key seats in this year’s off-year elections, and exit polls say voters were focused on the cost of living when making their picks.

Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani promised to make life in New York City cheaper. Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger promised she would make it easier to buy a house in Virginia. And her New Jersey counterpart Mikie Sherrill promised to freeze utility costs.

For Democrats, addressing affordability means increasing the burden of what the government takes care of: more Medicare and Medicaid, student loan forgiveness, rent assistance, tax-funded child care, etc.

Mamdani’s victory speech encapsulated that view succinctly. After taking in 50.4% of the vote, he declared, “We will prove that there is no problem too large for government to solve and no pr

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