Democratic candidates grapple with past stances on defunding the police ahead of key midterm races

WASHINGTON — With the midterms just months away, Democrats are trying to persuade voters that the biggest danger to their rights and wallets is anarchy under President Donald Trump’s administration. But the party’s previous rhetoric on crime and safety is likely to undercut that message.

Democratic candidates nationwide are grappling with their past calls to “defund the police,” a demand that was front and center during the protests sparked by the death of George Floyd, by reimagining public safety services or redirecting some of the funding for certain police departments to other social programs. Now they will have to answer some serious questions about where they stood in the past.

Democratic officials worry that the outlier sentiments in favor of police defunding might again taint the party’s brand and undermine its chances of gaining momentum in Congress, governor’s mansions and statehouses nationally.

Democratic strategist Antjuan Seawright said, “It was a serious debate in 2020 that arguably cost us some seats that year and caused us to lose on something that we should have had the upper ground on, because a few members of our party wanted to have a stylistic debate rather than a substantive one.”

“Democrats have to define the narrative before others define us with the narrative,” Seawright added, “so we’re not painted as politically toxic on safety issues.”

That might be a challenge as the party faces a growing left side that has taken its base at the same time Republicans are preparing to make warnings about crime, immigration and expanded support for democratic socialism central to their closing midterm campaign.

Democratic candidates nationwide are grappling with their past calls to “defund the police,” a demand that was front and center during the protests sparked by the death of George Floyd, by reimagining public safety services or redirecting some of the funding for certain police departments to other social programs. Now they are being asked hard questions about their earlier stands.

Democratic officials worry that the fringe views that underpin the movement to defund the police might taint the party’s image and hurt its chances of picking up seats in Congress and winning governor’s mansions and statehouses around the country.

Antjuan Seawright, a Democratic strategist, said, “It was a serious debate in 2020 that arguably cost us some seats that year and caused us to lose on something where we should have had the upper ground, because a few members of our party wanted to have a stylistic debate rather than one on substance.”

“Democrats have to define the narrative before others define us with the narrative,” Seawright added, “so we’re not painted as politically toxic on safety issues.”

That effort may get more difficult as the party confronts a strong left side that has seized its base even as Republicans are trying to make warnings about crime, immigration and growing support for democratic socialism essential to their closing midterm pitch.

Wisconsin Gubernatorial Candidate Responds to Previous ‘Defund’ Rhetoric In Wisconsin, a swing state that President Donald Trump won in 2016 and 2024 and is known for razor-thin elections, insurgent democratic socialist State Rep. Francesca Hong has upended the Democratic gubernatorial primary by running far to the left in a state where independent and moderate voters are key in statewide races. A single mother and former line cook, Ms. Hong has caught the imaginations of liberal Democrats who are angry with the party establishment.

But other moderate Democrats have also expressed fears that her previous support for defunding the police will cost her in the general election against Trump-backed Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany.

“I support defunding the police as a first step to abolishing the police,” Hong wrote in a 2020 social media post after the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man in Kenosha, Wisconsin. A year later, while he was in the State Assembly, Hong wrote about Blake again: “Police exist to uphold white supremacy. Defund and then abolish. “Reform is not an option.

But as a gubernatorial candidate, Hong had tempered her message without walking back her prior remarks. In the only discussion before the Aug. 11 primary to be aired, Hong stated Tuesday night that she does not favor lowering police funding.

“The governor can’t defund the police and I’m not here to govern by slogan,” Hong said. “I’m here to ensure that I am the most serious governor about public safety, and that means investing in the things that we know prevent crimes.

Michigan, New York lawmakers distance themselves from ‘defund’ calls In neighboring Michigan, Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, who has described himself as a progressive, has faced questions about his earlier calls to defund police. CNN revealed last November that the public health expert and Rhodes scholar had erased dozens of posts supporting defunding the police. Now he says he rejects that idea.

And in New York, Mayor Zohran Mamdani has sought to separate himself from prior criticism of the city’s police department and a previous request to defund the agency. At times, he’s still haunted by a series of social media posts he wrote in 2020, during the height of the Black Lives Matter protests, when he called the department “racist, anti-queer & a major threat to public safety” and urged to “Defund this rogue agency.”

Mamdana apologized for the words he used during his campaign, and said he no longer wanted to defund the agency. Since then, he has sought to calm remaining worries by keeping his predecessor’s police commissioner, Jessica Tisch, an established centrist who is respected by the city’s corporate leaders and law enforcement community. That decision, however, outraged some of Mamdani’s progressive allies.

This backpedaling is a sign of how the politics of criminal justice have altered since 2020, causing difficulties for Democrats’ midterm strategy and their ability to implement their chosen remedies.

Memphis voters decry National Guard presence, oppose ‘defund the police’ For communities caught up in the politics of the argument, the stakes are life and death.

In Memphis, Tennessee, locals are tired of being dragged into the national debate over crime and safety. The president sent National Guard troops into the city in the past year, part of a “anti-crime” task force. The task force was met with a fresh round of local anger after federal officers shot and killed a man experiencing a mental health crisis and murdered another person during a struggle while executing a drug warrant earlier this month. The city’s local Democratic politicians say the tough-on-crime tactics only momentarily decreased crime while army deployment was at its height.

“They don’t like the way it was done, how President Trump and the governor were able to snap their fingers and all of a sudden we see federal agents flooding our city,” said State Sen. London Lamar, who represents Memphis and has faced tough questions from constituents and her statehouse colleagues about how to address crime in the city.

But Lamar said that aside from angry local progressive activists, citizens incensed by the administration’s anti-crime crackdown remained suspicious of proposals to “defund the police.”

“It’s not really sticking because it’s quietly kept, but the vast majority of the community still wants law enforcement’s presence,” said Lamar. Lamar said the argument is a good distraction from actual conversations about how to increase public safety.

“Our challenges are being exploited politically,” she further said.