Democrats in Key Races Embrace ‘Capitalist’ Label

“I’m not a socialist,” Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, his fellow Senate candidate in Michigan told TIME in May, who then praised the efficiency of capitalism to “allocate resources.”

The defensive pose from Democrats is a broader trend than just a few Senate races: Sixty Democrats, including 10 sitting members of Congress, signed a pledge this summer from the newly formed Promise to America declaring, “We are capitalist, not socialist.” The collective was organized by centrist Democratic Reps. Tom Suozzi of New York and Adam Gray of California, the only two Democrats in 2024 to flip congressional districts won by President Donald Trump. “We believe in a growing, fair, and competitive economy that rewards hard work, innovation, entrepreneurship, and ownership,” their pledge reads.