A group of 15 Democratic mayors governing in Republican-dominated states are building a new political operation that aims to influence national politics as a center-left alternative to both the MAGA movement and what they describe as “far-left dysfunction” from groups like the Democratic Socialists of America.
The organization — Blue Cities/Red States — is led by Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb and will launch next week in Miami with a kickoff event hosted by its mayor, Eileen Higgins. The founding mayors lead cities including Atlanta, Jacksonville, Boise, Tulsa and Memphis — governing more than 7 million Americans across 11 red and purple states, according to a memo for the new coalition.
In an interview with ABC News, Bibb said he hopes these mayors will emerge as a kind of testing ground for a post-2024 Democratic message. He suggested that the party can rebuild trust among voters by zeroing in on things such as public safety, affordability, economic growth — things that these mayors often govern on, up against Republicans at times, Bibb said.
“As Democrats talk about closing the credibility gap, these 15 mayors have been closing that gap in their cities — without the cover of a Democratic governor or a Democratic-led legislature,” Bibb said.
Higgins, who was elected as Miami’s mayor in December as the first Democrat to serve in 28 years, also emphasized the group’s focus on working against the political extremes.
“Working for a more united states is a core theme of Blue Cities/Red States, and we do this by pushing back against extremism and promoting a more practical brand of leadership that focuses on results over rhetoric,” Higgins said. “This includes balancing the need to stand up for your community against harmful policies but also finding compromise solutions that deliver results.”
The group plans to have a permanent national platform, fundraising and organizational infrastructure, polling and message testing, and a national paid-media strategy heading into the 2026 and 2028 cycles, according to the memo.
Bibb claimed the group is also in talks with members of Congress about aligning their agendas.
“We want to influence the next speaker, and the next Congress, and the next president. We know what this next Congress should be focused on to address cost and affordability, to address public safety,” Bibb said.
“I think long term, it’s leaders like this that allows us to expand the map. As we saw in 2024, the ‘blue wall’ doesn’t exist anymore. So if you want to win in Idaho and Nebraska and Georgia and Arizona and Missouri and Ohio, we’ve got to invest in mayors, and I think mayors represent the best future for the Democratic Party.”
This group is building out just ahead of the midterms, when Democrats are expected to notch victories that could come as a result of President Donald Trump’s unpopularity rather than their own party’s image, a new Wall Street Journal poll shows.
According to the poll, Democrats received some of their lowest approval ratings in decades since Trump took office last year. They have a 38% favorable rating, just behind the Republican Party’s 39% favorability rating. President Trump’s current approval rating is at 37%.
In the Wall Street Journal poll, Democratic Socialists of America had just a 24% favorable rating.
Bibb said he hopes that by boosting these red-state Democratic mayors, Republicans could learn to trust Democrats.
“You know, poll after poll after poll shows that MAGA Republicans and Democrats agree that affordability is the No. 1 issue, but when you look at Republicans — and specifically MAGA Republicans — they don’t trust Democrats to actually execute. And this coalition is the answer to that question, and that’s our value proposition long term,” Bibb said.
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