Democrats’ working-class hole, Zohran vs. NYC freelancers and other commentary

Liberal: Democrats’ Working-Class Hole

“It’s not exactly news that Democrats have a yawning working-class hole in their coalition,” snarks The Liberal Patriot’s Ruy Teixeira.

A New York Times/Siena poll found white college voters “say they’ll vote Democratic in 2026 by 16 points, while white working-class voters favor the Republicans by 34 points.”

The poll found a “similarly-sized class gap” on President Trump’s approval/disapproval.

Despite talking “about the need to reach working-class voters,” Dems increasingly represent the “priorities” of educated professionals.

Their play for “white college-grad” votes “might well work in the 2026 House elections, where their odds of taking enough seats to shift control look good.”

But those “white college voters” may not be enough for Democrats to retake the Senate. “Or succeed in 2028.”

Conservative: Zohran vs. NYC Freelancers

“One of Zohran Mamdani’s most harmful proposals is getting the least attention: his plan to restrict ‘gig’ work” by wrapping it “in so much red tape, it’ll be significantly harder for New Yorkers to work for themselves or get side income,” warns Jonathan Wolfson at RealClearPolitics. 

“At least 20% of working New Yorkers find gigs through apps,” and “studies find these entrepreneurs are pleased with their choice to freelance.”

But critics like Mamdani “want to put government in the driver’s seat of employment.”

California passed a law in 2019 “attacking independent work,” and “to this day . . . Californians have fewer of the jobs they want and need.”

“Freelance work has transformed New York City’s economy,” but “Zohran Mamdani’s ideas could put it all at risk — and every New Yorker should be worried.”

Garden State watch: Gov’s Race Hinges on Taxes

“Taxes have become a key fault line in the race for New Jersey Governor,” observes The Wall Street Journal editorial board.

So Republican Jack Ciattarelli’s rookie running-mate flubbed badly in last week’s lt.-gov. debate by failing to rule out tax hikes categorically.

Truth is, Ciattarelli is “promising to reduce income taxes across the board,” after Democrats “repeatedly raised income and corporate taxes under Gov. Phil Murphy.”

By contrast, asked if “she’d consider raising the state’s 6.6% sales tax,” Ciattarelli’s rival, Mikie Sherrill, “said she was ‘not going to commit to anything . . . I’m not just going to tell you whatever you want to hear.’ ”

“Take that as a yes.” Polls show the race tied — perhaps because “voters don’t want a third Murphy term.”

From the right: Immigration Fraud Must End 

The left insists that illegal aliens are frozen out of American life, yet “somehow an illegal immigrant managed to become the superintendent of Iowa’s largest public school system,” notes the Washington Examiner’s editorial board.

Guyana native Ian Roberts “was also registered to vote in Maryland.” Roberts worked in school systems throughout America for 25 years, though “it is unclear on what legal basis he was allowed to take any of these jobs.”

“President Barack Obama dismantled ICE’s internal immigration enforcement system in 2014,” and “frauds such as Roberts were the type of illegal immigrant the Democratic Party was trying to protect.”

This case proves that “immigration enforcement is not optional. It is essential to protect the integrity of schools, elections, and communities.”

Space beat: A Moon Mission Next Year?

The next moon mission “has a name and a date,” cheers The Hill’s Mark R. Whittington.

“Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover,” and the other astronauts have “decided to name their Orion spacecraft the Integrity” and also announced the launch will be “no sooner than Feb. 5, 2026,” raising the real chance of a flight next year — the first lunar mission since Apollo 17 in 1972.

This voyage “will be an important chapter in a process that has been too long in coming, humankind’s return to the moon” — and could “be a balm to the horrors afflicting the world,” showing all who witness it “that there are still things beautiful, glorious and good possible.”

— Compiled by The Post Editorial Board