A nonprofit affiliated with the New Democrat Coalition will hold its first policy conference on May 12 to address high living costs. The event at Washington's Planet Word Museum aims to sharpen Democratic messaging on affordability ahead of the midterms. It follows recent agendas from both centrist and progressive Democrats.
The Effective Governing Coalition, launched in 2024 as an offshoot of the centrist New Democrat Coalition, is hosting the inaugural forum titled “Delivering an Effective Economy: A Solutions Conference.” New Democrats Chair Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.) will attend, along with Reps. Nikki Budzinski (D-Ill.), Salud Carbajal (D-Calif.), Kristen McDonald Rivet (D-Mich.), Marilyn Strickland (D-Wash.) and Greg Stanton (D-Ariz.). Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) is set to speak in a fireside chat. Other speakers include Fox News commentator Jessica Tarlov, Puck's Leigh Ann Caldwell, Molly Ball, Impact Research’s Molly Murphy, SKDK’s Doug Thornell and Third Way’s Lanae Erickson. The forum will feature new polling on cost-of-living concerns and strategies to boost affordability for Democratic leaders. The group recently hired Andrew Wright, former chief of staff to Rep. Derek Kilmer (D-Wash.), as its first executive director. This event builds on earlier efforts by the Effective Governing Coalition, founded by Democratic operatives Mike Goodman and Kyle Layman, including a summer ad campaign supporting New Democrat Coalition members in swing districts. It comes amid competing Democratic affordability pushes. The New Democrat Coalition released a 16-page “Affordability Agenda” earlier this year targeting costs in groceries, health care, housing, energy and family needs. The Congressional Progressive Caucus unveiled its 10-point “New Affordability Agenda” this week, endorsed by 22 national organizations, with reforms like government-produced generic drugs, first-time homebuyer aid, utility price gouging crackdowns and universal childcare capped at 7 percent of family income.
