Following Democratic nominee Kamala Harris’s loss in the 2024 Presidential election to Republican nominee Donald Trump, many have speculated on what the largest contributing factors were to the Democrats’ stunning defeat.
Many feel that Trump’s ability to harness previously “apolitical” spaces like sports podcasts and “men-focused media” was one of his largest strengths while he was campaigning.
As a result, many democrats are now taking to sports media to resonate with their constituents, according to Awful Announcing.
Reid J. Epstein, Katie Glueck, and Kellen Browning wrote in the New York Times about the trend of Democrats embracing their sports fandoms in an effort to connect better with voters.
“Josh from Abington,” a.k.a. Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro, who is the governor of Pennsylvania, regularly calls into SportsRadio 94WIP under the pseudonym “Josh from Abington” to praise the Philadelphia Eagles and lament what’s going on with the 76ers.
Shapiro also worked as a game analyst for a Pitttsburgh-Syracuse basketball game and appears on several Philadelphia sports-centric podcasts as a guest.
Maryland Governor Wes Moore is a frequent caller into Baltimore and Washington sports radio and hasn’t been afraid to talk about what the Washington Commanders should do about their new stadium.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz addressed the Democrats’ recent push into sports.
“It takes the politics out of it,” said Gov. Walz. “When I go out there and go on those shows, it shows you’re a real human being, and it connects with people on something they care about.”
It’ll be interesting to see how the strategy plays out for the Dems.
