vox--2020-08-18--The Democratic platform, explained

The Democratic platform, explained

The main order of business as Democrats gather for their virtual convention is to make their nominations for president and vice president official .
But they ’ re also going to make a statement on what , exactly , their party stands for .
That will be in the platform — a written document of guiding principles and policy promises that Democrats are running on in 2020 .
The final version hasn ’ t yet been posted , but a draft is at this link .
Delegates have been voting remotely on whether to approve the proposed platform , it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and that result will be announced this week .
Though Sen. Bernie Sanders supports the platform , it ’ s certainly not the agenda of the left ’ s dreams .
There ’ s no endorsement of Medicare-for-all , no call to defund the police , no call to abolish ICE , no call to ban fracking , no support for legalizing marijuana nationwide , and no backing of free college for all .
So hundreds of Sanders delegates decided to vote no on the platform in a symbolic protest .
But it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as moderate — because it calls for doing a whole lot of stuff .
Over the course of 80 dense pages , there are hundreds of liberal policy proposals or commitments — far too many to fully do justice to in this article .
On health care , the platform calls for free Covid-19 testing , treatment , and vaccines for all , for making a generous public option for health insurance available to all Americans , and for empowering Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices .
On the climate crisis , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spending , and for eliminating carbon pollution from power plants by 2035 ( an earlier target than Democrats previously proposed ) .
It proposes raising the minimum wage to $ 15 an hour , significantly increasing the child tax credit , and aggressively increasing the supply of housing ( including affordable housing ) .
The platform also calls for overhauling the criminal justice system “ from top to bottom , ” for decriminalizing marijuana use ( and giving states the option to fully legalize it ) , for creating a roadmap to citizenship @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , DC a state and giving Puerto Ricans a process to decide whether Puerto Rico should too , for repealing the amendment stating federal funds can ’ t be used for abortion , for making public colleges and universities tuition-free for students whose families earn less than $ 125,000 a year , and for bringing “ our forever wars to a responsible end.
” The list of policy proposals goes on and on .
But as much as the platform is the most progressive document to come out of a major national party @ @ @ @ @ @ @ far from clear this is anything close to what a possible Biden presidency would achieve or even push for .
The platform isn ’ t written to take into account practical constraints , legislative trade-offs , or the hard-nosed political calculations that every president has to make — it exists in the world of ideals .
“ You campaign in poetry , you govern in prose , ” as the late Gov .
Mario Cuomo ( D-NY ) once said .
A platform is essentially a political party ’ s summary of what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what Democrats are “ running on ” in the 2020 elections — an explanation to voters of what they hope to do if Biden wins the presidency , and where they think the country should go more generally .
It is , however , an aspirational document , not an operational one .
While it does contain many specific policy promises alongside broader goals and ideals , it doesn ’ t particularly reckon with the features of the political system that trend to thwart change .
It ’ s not written as legislation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ don ’ t know who will control Congress next year .
Additionally , since this is a public-facing document , it ’ s Democrats ’ attempt to make their agenda sound appealing — they ’ ll emphasize the stuff they think is popular .
Of course , vanishingly few voters will ever read the platform or become aware of more than a handful of its proposals .
So in practice , the people who take the greatest interest in the platform ’ s details tend to be activists .
“ Platforms obviously don @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , they ’ re symbolic , ” says Boston College political scientist and political parties expert Dave Hopkins .
“ Some people care a lot about symbolism and some people don ’ t .
Activists often care and they will put a lot of energy into trying to push the platform in one direction or another.
” Indeed , platform deliberations are a venue for activist groups to try and flex their muscles — to demonstrate their sway within the party and influence on the presidential nominee .
It ’ s a lower-stakes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will eventually unfold within the party over governing , should they win .
Meanwhile , Hopkins continues , the main priorities for the presidential candidate in the platform-drafting process are to avoid being “ embarrassed by the platform , ” and to try and pull off “ a nice happy unified convention.
” Achieving the former would entail pushback against some activist demands , achieving the latter involves making the activists happy .
Those activists include Sanders and his acolytes .
In both 2016 and 2020 , Sanders was the runner-up for the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for his team in shaping the platform .
As a result , in both years , the Democratic platform discussions were a venue in which members of the “ establishment ” and the pro-Sanders Democratic factions have negotiated and tried to reach agreement .
( They were often quite tense in 2016 , but less so in 2020 . )
Research has shown that , in general , members of Congress usually end up voting in accordance with promises made in their party platforms .
So the platform is significant , because it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as a party , of what they stand for .
It shouldn ’ t be taken literally — but it should be taken seriously .
This year , there were 15 members of Democrats ’ platform drafting committee — a mix of politicians , longtime Biden aides , union chiefs , and advisers to Sanders .
But unofficially , the opinions that matter most are from Biden ’ s team .
He did , after all , win the nomination .
Biden wants to keep Sanders happy , which is why several months @ @ @ @ @ @ @ forces with Sanders allies to come up with policy recommendations .
( Many of the same people worked on the joint task forces and the platform drafting committee . )
But everyone was well aware that Biden won the nomination ( rather decisively ) while spurning pressure to move further to the left on issues like health care .
So there was never really any chance that he would , say , agree to back Medicare-for-all as a concession to the Sanders team during negotiations .
Still , Sanders allies fought for what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the process sound happy with the outcome .
“ I truly believe this platform lays out the most progressive vision of America in all of our lifetimes , ” Josh Orton , a senior adviser to Sanders , said at a livestreamed platform drafting committee meeting in July .
Another Sanders ally on the platform drafting committee , Analilia Mejia , tweeted earlier about the unity task forces : “ I wish we could # BernItDown and move an agenda that immediately guarantees justice to all , but we would be foolish @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to erode the obstacles that stand before us with persistence and grit.
” A lot !
The draft platform is divided into 10 main sections , covering pandemic response , the economy , health care , criminal justice , climate , immigration , education , foreign policy , voting rights , and identity-related rights issues .
Each section contains a mix of principles and policy promises ( at varying levels of specificity ) .
There are too many to possibly summarize them all here , but here ’ s a sampling : • @ @ @ @ @ @ @ eventual vaccines widely available and free to everyone • Create a public option for health insurance available to all Americans that would cover all primary care with no co-payments , and auto-enroll the lowest-income Americans in it without premiums • Raise the federal minimum wage to $ 15 an hour • Make “ make public colleges and universities tuition-free for students whose families earn less than $ 125,000 , ” and community colleges tuition-free for all • Take aggressive steps to increase the supply of housing , including affordable housing • Decriminalize marijuana @ @ @ @ @ @ @ whether to fully legalize it for recreational purposes up to individual states • Pass “ a domestic terrorism law ” ( to combat violence from “ bigots , anti-Semites , Islamophobes , and white supremacists ” ) • Work to eliminate carbon pollution from power plants by 2035 • Make Washington , DC , the 51st state , and create a process for Puerto Ricans to determine whether Puerto Rico should become a state • “ Bring our forever wars to a responsible end , ” but keep a small military presence in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of ISIS ” • End US support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen • Stop the “ race to war with Iran ” and attempt to restore the deal negotiated under the Obama administration • Continue an “ ironclad ” commitment to Israel ’ s security , while supporting a negotiated two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict Some of these would require new legislation from Congress , while others are within the president ’ s powers for unilateral action .
But overall , it ’ s fair to say these are the sorts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to do .
Overall , the platform isn ’ t a radical break from Democrats ’ past — this is Joe Biden we ’ re talking about — but it contains a very wide-ranging suite of progressive proposals .
What were some of the sticking points ?
The highest-profile dissension was over Medicare-for-all — which the proposed platform does not support , in keeping with Biden ’ s views .
This wasn ’ t a deal-breaker for Sanders himself , but several hundred Sanders-supporting delegates , including Rep. Rashida Tlaib ( D-MI ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ against any platform that doesn ’ t include Medicare-for-all , and they followed through in remote voting .
In an ordinary year , this would mean an embarrassing spectacle showcasing cracks in the Democratic coalition on the convention floor , with hundreds of televised no votes on the party platform .
But there will be no convention floor to speak of this year , due to scaled-down proceedings because of the Covid-19 pandemic , and as such this rebellion has gotten little attention .
Other wrangling unfolded behind the scenes .
David Klion @ @ @ @ @ @ @ over the language of the Israel plank from both left-leaning and right-leaning groups .
( Those on the left were happy that the draft platform condemned “ settlement expansion , ” but are disappointed that the word “ occupation ” was not used . )
Specific linguistic choices in the platform like this will have zero effect on a future Biden administration ’ s approach to Israel .
Yet the results in these disputes can be revealing about the shifting politics of Israel-related issues inside the Democratic Party .
DNC member and Sanders @ @ @ @ @ @ @ like this is not really about policy , but instead “ about whether or not one side can get the party to jump through a hoop.
” Here , as on many other issues , the Biden team has allowed some movement to the left , but has made sure things won ’ t go beyond where Biden is comfortable .
Indeed , the decision of whether to use the word “ occupation ” was taken to Biden himself , according to Foreign Policy ’ s Colum Lynch .
How much of these @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on ?
That is far from clear .
The platform is written without concern for the institutional barriers to change that inevitably frustrate politicians .
For instance , when it comes to proposals that would require new legislation — a significant chunk of this platform — two crucial questions matter most .
First , will Democrats take the Senate ?
And second , will Democrats abolish the filibuster ?
If Republicans hold the Senate , Democrats can kiss any hope of passing new progressive laws goodbye ( barring a sudden and remarkable change @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
But even if Democrats take the Senate , the filibuster ’ s 60-vote threshold for advancing legislation means that they ’ ll need Republican support to pass almost anything ( since the chances of Democrats getting 60 Senate seats are quite small ) .
There has recently been some momentum for filibuster reform , with former President Obama recently saying it should be abolished if Republicans keep using it to block change .
But Biden and key Senate Democrats are not yet fully behind the idea .
Should Democrats abolish the filibuster @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for them to pass a sweeping progressive legislative agenda — though likely one that would have to meet the approval of red state Senate Democrats who would be the swing votes , and who would face intense lobbying and political pressure .
If the filibuster stays , though , Democrats could only pass new laws through the special budget reconciliation process , which has many limitations .
Many other policy proposals in the platform could be advanced by a Biden administration through the executive branch , without new legislation .
( The American @ @ @ @ @ @ @ such policies mentioned in the Biden-Sanders unity task force reports . )
But there are barriers to change in the executive branch too , though they can be more opaque .
Particularly important here will be personnel : Will Biden appoint aggressive reformers throughout the executive branch , or will he opt for appointees who are more politically cautious and friendlier to entrenched interests ?
Finally , but crucially , Biden ’ s own choices about what to prioritize and fight for will be crucial .
Biden ’ s ambitions for a governing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ crisis , as my colleague Ella Nilsen recently reported .
But when some of these initiatives become embroiled in public controversy , as they inevitably will , he may have to make some difficult political choices .
More broadly , politicians would often like activists to believe that yes , they ’ re with them all the way , and they ’ re doing everything they can .
But that is often not quite the truth .
Appealing to the median voter may mean spurning the demands of activists who want more aggressive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s political instincts and substantive preferences could , in many cases , mean going slower .
But for now , Democrats are still in the “ poetry ” phase — they have a great deal of appealing-sounding things they want to get done , and the only way they ’ ll be in a position to do them is by beating President Trump in November .
Will you become our 20,000th supporter ?
When the economy took a downturn in the spring and we started asking readers for financial contributions , we weren @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Today , we ’ re humbled to say that nearly 20,000 people have chipped in .
The reason is both lovely and surprising : Readers told us that they contribute both because they value explanation and because they value that other people can access it , too .
We have always believed that explanatory journalism is vital for a functioning democracy .
That ’ s never been more important than today , during a public health crisis , racial justice protests , a recession , and a presidential election .
But our @ @ @ @ @ @ @ advertising alone won ’ t let us keep creating it at the quality and volume this moment requires .
Your financial contribution will not constitute a donation , but it will help keep Vox free for all .
Contribute today from as little as $ 3 .

The main order of business as Democrats gather for their virtual convention is to make their nominations for president and vice president official. But they’re also going to make a statement on what, exactly, their party stands for.
That will be in the platform — a written document of guiding principles and policy promises that Democrats are running on in 2020. The final version is at this link. Delegates have been voting remotely on whether to approve the proposed platform, it’s certain to be adopted, and that result will be announced this week.
Though Sen. Bernie Sanders supports the platform, it’s certainly not the agenda of the left’s dreams. There’s no endorsement of Medicare-for-all, no call to defund the police, no call to abolish ICE, no call to ban fracking, no support for legalizing marijuana nationwide, and no backing of free college for all. So hundreds of Sanders delegates decided to vote no on the platform in a symbolic protest.
But it’s hard to characterize this platform as moderate — because it calls for doing a whole lot of stuff. Over the course of 92 dense pages, there are hundreds of liberal policy proposals or commitments — far too many to fully do justice to in this article.
On health care, the platform calls for free Covid-19 testing, treatment, and vaccines for all, for making a generous public option for health insurance available to all Americans, and for empowering Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices. On the climate crisis, the platform calls for major new clean energy spending, and for eliminating carbon pollution from power plants by 2035 (an earlier target than Democrats previously proposed). It proposes raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour, significantly increasing the child tax credit, and aggressively increasing the supply of housing (including affordable housing).
Related This is the future Joe Biden wants
The platform also calls for overhauling the criminal justice system “from top to bottom,” for decriminalizing marijuana use (and giving states the option to fully legalize it), for creating a roadmap to citizenship for unauthorized immigrants, for making Washington, DC a state and giving Puerto Ricans a process to decide whether Puerto Rico should too, for repealing the amendment stating federal funds can’t be used for abortion, for making public colleges and universities tuition-free for students whose families earn less than $125,000 a year, and for bringing “our forever wars to a responsible end.” The list of policy proposals goes on and on.
But as much as the platform is the most progressive document to come out of a major national party in US history, it’s far from clear this is anything close to what a possible Biden presidency would achieve or even push for. The platform isn’t written to take into account practical constraints, legislative trade-offs, or the hard-nosed political calculations that every president has to make — it exists in the world of ideals. “You campaign in poetry, you govern in prose,” as the late Gov. Mario Cuomo (D-NY) once said.
What is a platform?
A platform is essentially a political party’s summary of what it stands for. It’s what Democrats are “running on” in the 2020 elections — an explanation to voters of what they hope to do if Biden wins the presidency, and where they think the country should go more generally.
It is, however, an aspirational document, not an operational one. While it does contain many specific policy promises alongside broader goals and ideals, it doesn’t particularly reckon with the features of the political system that trend to thwart change. It’s not written as legislation — which makes sense, considering we don’t know who will control Congress next year. Additionally, since this is a public-facing document, it’s Democrats’ attempt to make their agenda sound appealing — they’ll emphasize the stuff they think is popular.
Of course, vanishingly few voters will ever read the platform or become aware of more than a handful of its proposals. So in practice, the people who take the greatest interest in the platform’s details tend to be activists.
“Platforms obviously don’t have the force of law, they’re symbolic,” says Boston College political scientist and political parties expert Dave Hopkins. “Some people care a lot about symbolism and some people don’t. Activists often care and they will put a lot of energy into trying to push the platform in one direction or another.”
Indeed, platform deliberations are a venue for activist groups to try and flex their muscles — to demonstrate their sway within the party and influence on the presidential nominee. It’s a lower-stakes warmup for the kinds of fights that will eventually unfold within the party over governing, should they win.
Meanwhile, Hopkins continues, the main priorities for the presidential candidate in the platform-drafting process are to avoid being “embarrassed by the platform,” and to try and pull off “a nice happy unified convention.” Achieving the former would entail pushback against some activist demands, achieving the latter involves making the activists happy.
Those activists include Sanders and his acolytes. In both 2016 and 2020, Sanders was the runner-up for the nomination, and he wanted a role for his team in shaping the platform. As a result, in both years, the Democratic platform discussions were a venue in which members of the “establishment” and the pro-Sanders Democratic factions have negotiated and tried to reach agreement. (They were often quite tense in 2016, but less so in 2020.)
Research has shown that, in general, members of Congress usually end up voting in accordance with promises made in their party platforms. So the platform is significant, because it is Democrats’ most concrete statement, as a party, of what they stand for. It shouldn’t be taken literally — but it should be taken seriously.
Who wrote the platform?
This year, there were 15 members of Democrats’ platform drafting committee — a mix of politicians, longtime Biden aides, union chiefs, and advisers to Sanders. But unofficially, the opinions that matter most are from Biden’s team. He did, after all, win the nomination.
Biden wants to keep Sanders happy, which is why several months ago he agreed to form joint task forces with Sanders allies to come up with policy recommendations. (Many of the same people worked on the joint task forces and the platform drafting committee.)
But everyone was well aware that Biden won the nomination (rather decisively) while spurning pressure to move further to the left on issues like health care. So there was never really any chance that he would, say, agree to back Medicare-for-all as a concession to the Sanders team during negotiations.
Still, Sanders allies fought for what they could get, and those involved in the process sound happy with the outcome. “I truly believe this platform lays out the most progressive vision of America” for any Democratic convention “in our lifetimes,” Josh Orton, a senior adviser to Sanders, said at a livestreamed platform drafting committee meeting in July.
Another Sanders ally on the platform drafting committee, Analilia Mejia, tweeted earlier about the unity task forces: “I wish we could #BernItDown and move an agenda that immediately guarantees justice to all, but we would be foolish to not take every opportunity we have to erode the obstacles that stand before us with persistence and grit.”
What’s in Democrats’ 2020 platform?
A lot! The platform is divided into 10 main sections, covering pandemic response, the economy, health care, criminal justice, climate, immigration, education, foreign policy, voting rights, and identity-related rights issues.
Each section contains a mix of principles and policy promises (at varying levels of specificity). There are too many to possibly summarize them all here, but here’s a sampling:
Health care
Make Covid-19 testing, treatment, and eventual vaccines widely available and free to everyone
Create a public option for health insurance available to all Americans that would cover all primary care with no co-payments, and auto-enroll the lowest-income Americans in it without premiums
Empower Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices
Economy
Raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour
Significantly increase the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit
Make “make public colleges and universities tuition-free for students whose families earn less than $125,000,” and community colleges tuition-free for all
Take aggressive steps to increase the supply of housing, including affordable housing
Criminal justice
Overhaul the criminal justice system “from top to bottom”
Decriminalize marijuana use, but leave the choice of whether to fully legalize it for recreational purposes up to individual states
Pass “a domestic terrorism law” (to combat violence from “bigots, anti-Semites, Islamophobes, and white supremacists”)
Climate change
Work to eliminate carbon pollution from power plants by 2035
Invest in infrastructure and clean energy
Voting rights
Make Washington, DC, the 51st state, and create a process for Puerto Ricans to determine whether Puerto Rico should become a state
Restore protections under the Voting Rights Act
Immigration and foreign policy
Create a path to citizenship for unauthorized immigrants
Prioritize alternatives to detention for migrants
“Bring our forever wars to a responsible end,” but keep a small military presence in Iraq to “ensure the lasting defeat of ISIS”
End US support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen
Stop the “race to war with Iran” and attempt to restore the deal negotiated under the Obama administration
Continue an “ironclad” commitment to Israel’s security, while supporting a negotiated two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Some of these would require new legislation from Congress, while others are within the president’s powers for unilateral action. But overall, it’s fair to say these are the sorts of things a Biden administration would try to do.
Overall, the platform isn’t a radical break from Democrats’ past — this is Joe Biden we’re talking about — but it contains a very wide-ranging suite of progressive proposals.
What were some of the sticking points?
Today, I cast my DNC ballot and voted NO on the proposed platform. I constantly hear from constituents demanding we push for a single-payer system and away from this for-profit system that is leaving people to suffer and die just because they cannot afford health care. 1/2 pic.twitter.com/cYghYNu6TI — Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) August 16, 2020
The highest-profile dissension was over Medicare-for-all — which the proposed platform does not support, in keeping with Biden’s views.
This wasn’t a deal-breaker for Sanders himself, but several hundred Sanders-supporting delegates, including Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), decided that they’ll vote against any platform that doesn’t include Medicare-for-all, and they followed through in remote voting.
In an ordinary year, this would mean an embarrassing spectacle showcasing cracks in the Democratic coalition on the convention floor, with hundreds of televised no votes on the party platform. But there will be no convention floor to speak of this year, due to scaled-down proceedings because of the Covid-19 pandemic, and as such this rebellion has gotten little attention.
Other wrangling unfolded behind the scenes. David Klion has reported in some detail on lobbying over the language of the Israel plank from both left-leaning and right-leaning groups. (Those on the left were happy that the draft platform condemned “settlement expansion,” but are disappointed that the word “occupation” was not used.)
Specific linguistic choices in the platform like this will have zero effect on a future Biden administration’s approach to Israel. Yet the results in these disputes can be revealing about the shifting politics of Israel-related issues inside the Democratic Party. DNC member and Sanders ally James Zogby told Klion that wrangling like this is not really about policy, but instead “about whether or not one side can get the party to jump through a hoop.”
Here, as on many other issues, the Biden team has allowed some movement to the left, but has made sure things won’t go beyond where Biden is comfortable. Indeed, the decision of whether to use the word “occupation” was taken to Biden himself, according to Foreign Policy’s Colum Lynch.
Then, just this week, the Huffington Post’s Alexander Kaufman reported that “language calling for an end to fossil fuel subsidies and tax breaks” was “quietly dropped” from the final version of the platform, with a DNC spokesperson claiming it was included as an error.
How much of these platform promises would a Biden administration deliver on?
That is far from clear. The platform is written without concern for the institutional barriers to change that inevitably frustrate politicians.
For instance, when it comes to proposals that would require new legislation — a significant chunk of this platform — two crucial questions matter most. First, will Democrats take the Senate? And second, will Democrats abolish the filibuster?
If Republicans hold the Senate, Democrats can kiss any hope of passing new progressive laws goodbye (barring a sudden and remarkable change with how the Republican Party behaves). But even if Democrats take the Senate, the filibuster’s 60-vote threshold for advancing legislation means that they’ll need Republican support to pass almost anything (since the chances of Democrats getting 60 Senate seats are quite small).
There has recently been some momentum for filibuster reform, with former President Obama recently saying it should be abolished if Republicans keep using it to block change. But Biden and key Senate Democrats are not yet fully behind the idea.
Should Democrats abolish the filibuster, it would be at least possible for them to pass a sweeping progressive legislative agenda — though likely one that would have to meet the approval of red state Senate Democrats who would be the swing votes, and who would face intense lobbying and political pressure. If the filibuster stays, though, Democrats could only pass new laws through the special budget reconciliation process, which has many limitations.
Many other policy proposals in the platform could be advanced by a Biden administration through the executive branch, without new legislation. (The American Prospect’s Max Moran counted 277 such policies mentioned in the Biden-Sanders unity task force reports.)
But there are barriers to change in the executive branch too, though they can be more opaque. Particularly important here will be personnel: Will Biden appoint aggressive reformers throughout the executive branch, or will he opt for appointees who are more politically cautious and friendlier to entrenched interests?
Finally, but crucially, Biden’s own choices about what to prioritize and fight for will be crucial.
Biden’s ambitions for a governing agenda have grown considerably since the coronavirus crisis, as my colleague Ella Nilsen recently reported. But when some of these initiatives become embroiled in public controversy, as they inevitably will, he may have to make some difficult political choices.
More broadly, politicians would often like activists to believe that yes, they’re with them all the way, and they’re doing everything they can. But that is often not quite the truth. Appealing to the median voter may mean spurning the demands of activists who want more aggressive change. Biden and his team’s political instincts and substantive preferences could, in many cases, mean going slower.
But for now, Democrats are still in the “poetry” phase — they have a great deal of appealing-sounding things they want to get done, and the only way they’ll be in a position to do them is by beating President Trump in November.
Will you become our 20,000th supporter? When the economy took a downturn in the spring and we started asking readers for financial contributions, we weren’t sure how it would go. Today, we’re humbled to say that nearly 20,000 people have chipped in. The reason is both lovely and surprising: Readers told us that they contribute both because they value explanation and because they value that other people can access it, too. We have always believed that explanatory journalism is vital for a functioning democracy. That’s never been more important than today, during a public health crisis, racial justice protests, a recession, and a presidential election. But our distinctive explanatory journalism is expensive, and advertising alone won’t let us keep creating it at the quality and volume this moment requires. Your financial contribution will not constitute a donation, but it will help keep Vox free for all. Contribute today from as little as $3.


vox--2020-08-18--The best 80 cents I ever spent: A pen I use to write to my friends

I have loved collecting stationery ever since I could remember : letter and envelope sets , puffy stickers , glitter gel pens , custom rubber stamps and colorful ink pads to make my own cards .
So when I was visiting family two years ago in Hong Kong , it was no surprise that I would stop into every cute paper store , stretching my parents ’ limits on patience .
Midway through my trip , with some spare time before dinner , I walked into Muji .
If you have never been to Muji , it is a modern @ @ @ @ @ @ @ full of blonde wood and basic clothing in loose silhouettes .
I ’ ve also always liked their stationery : minimal , sleek , uniform .
For some reason , I ’ d never actually bought any — the moment never felt right , or I had already blown through my budget , or I already ordered other stationery .
But that day , I walked to the area where all the pens were set upright , showcased on ascending acrylic shelves , with little blank notepads to test the ink .
I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 香港加油 , a blessing for my second home .
The ink glistened in the light in a way that said “ Today is the day you will be the owner of at least one Muji pen.
” The pen felt good in my hand .
I decided now was the time .
These pens — gel ink ballpoint in 0.5 mm — aren ’ t hard to find in the Muji stores in New York , where I live , but because there isn ’ t as big of an import tax in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ splurge for three ( black , blue , and green ) for 80 cents each .
Yes , buying them for $ 1.50 each in the US won ’ t break the bank , but if there ’ s one other thing I like besides stationery , it is a good deal .
Arriving home , I unpacked my suitcase , put the three pens in my ceramic pencil holder on my desk , and promptly forgot about them .
I ’ d use them on occasion when my hand strayed for a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ quick note to USPS to please leave a package somewhere , but otherwise , they were comfortably nestled in with all the other pens and pencils I had gathered over the years .
In early March , when New York mandated a stay-at-home order , I knew that I wouldn ’ t be able to see my friends for a long time .
All of a sudden , I was getting email invites to schedule Zoom calls , FaceTimes , WhatsApp videos .
Group texts exploded and , weirdly , so did chain @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of , knowing so many of my friends wanted to stay connected , but it was overwhelming to make the emotional time to be present , especially because all of a sudden , every worry I had about my future , my family , the world , heightened .
Unlike face-to-face interactions where I had the freedom to move around , look around , be in a new setting , I was instead spending hours staring at my own grainy face in a square floating on my laptop screen .
On most group @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is flattened , so instead of finding pockets of one-on-one chats within a larger group , I felt like I was always jockeying for the space to talk .
It became stressful having to figure out when was an opportune time to share news or take up airspace or find some way to segue without also feeling self-conscious about making the next five minutes all about myself .
On most group Zoom calls , the sense of intimacy is flattened So a week into the stay-at-home order , I decided to start writing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) a day , to a different friend , so that each friend would receive at least one letter from me a month .
I was not looking for replies ; it was mostly a good excuse , I thought , to finally put my stationery to use .
And of course , I opted to use my Muji pens because I knew they were reliable .
They were also no-frills , so as to not take away from the choice of stationery or the actual content of the letter itself .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ smooth with a rounded exterior , which was good as I hadn ’ t been doing much writing by hand in the last decade .
My hands had increasingly become accustomed to flying across a laptop keyboard , used to the quick tap-tapping on the tip of my fingers ; to relearn how to use my whole hand again was an exercise in patience , building up the muscle memory of a pre-screen age from a not-so-distant past .
In a letter , though , I could take as long as I wanted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ missed in New York ( the Temple of Dendur at the Met , the Cloisters , the Flushing food mall , the bike loop around Prospect Park ) , remark on the seasons changing ( at one point , I gave updates on the tree outside my bedroom which , in the four months I had been at home , had transformed from wintry barren to a springtime explosion of pink cherry blossom to a lush early-summer green ) .
When I actually had the mental space to read , I would share @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in exuberant detail about what I loved about the prose or the characters .
I recommended recipes , wrote down funny jokes I had heard from TV shows , remarked on the small changes in my neighborhood .
I even started to really write about the weather : how the wind passed through the vines trellising on the building across from my bedroom ; how the dry heat one day reminded me of summers in LA .
Every moment became an interesting bit of news because there was nothing really new happening to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ past months had been made in the same square footage space of my apartment or in the two-mile radius where I ’ ve walked .
While my plans were put on hold , life outside still went on , so I documented it in writing .
With each letter , I think of how they will read years , decades , from now .
What will a future generation ( or even me in 30 years ) remember from this time ?
Should I sound smarter in my letter-writing ?
Funnier ?
More @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ LOL ” —will that make historians who come across these letters think I am a dummy ?
For now , I am trying not to think too much of preserving this time period , and more of just trying to reach out , give a friend 5 minutes of solace .
And it ’ s become a catharsis for me , too .
Every moment became an interesting bit of news because there was nothing really new happening to me As a freelancer who works from home , not having the spontaneity @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the subway , to meet a friend for a quick lunch , took a toll on my mental well-being .
Writing letters became a way for me to have some sort of a schedule , and even a daily momentary pleasurable thing to look forward to .
It also became a space for reflection in the morning , both on what the day will entail and on the particular friend I was writing to that day .
After breakfast around 8 am each day , I wipe down my coffee table , select @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stamp , and open up Excel to see who hasn ’ t received a card in the past month ( Yes , I have a spreadsheet for everything ) .
I dutifully write their address on the envelope , and sit for a moment .
What can I say in this letter that will bring this friend joy ?
Is there an inside joke I can include ?
What about a memory ?
Sometimes a friend writes back , so when they do , I pull up their letter and respond to their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ own .
Long conversations have been born from this back-and-forth .
Unlike text messages in which we try to say everything we can before we move on with our days , or on a video call where it feels even more ephemeral , answering a letter gives me the opportunity to reflect and truly think about what I want to say , to share .
I ’ ll pause , occasionally , mid-sentence , my Muji pen still on the paper .
No matter how long I pause , though , the ink @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and spread out like other pens .
It doesn ’ t betray that I may have made a mistake or realize I don ’ t actually know what my next sentence is going to be .
My pens are running low now , but with every letter , no matter the paper source , the ink holds its own beautifully .
The pen glides effortlessly with no drag or smearing and I know it ’ s not only because my handwriting has gotten better , but because the relationship I have to these @ @ @ @ @ @ @ each note I write .
On July 13 , Muji announced they were filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the US .
Now , with each letter I write , I worry that it could be the last before my pens are fully tapped out .
Each letter has become even more precious than before ; imbued with a hope that while these pens won ’ t last forever , perhaps these letters will .
Vivian Lee is a writer and editor living in Queens , New York .
Every day at Vox @ @ @ @ @ @ @ important questions and provide you , and our audience around the world , with information that has the power to save lives .
Our mission has never been more vital than it is in this moment : to empower you through understanding .
Vox ’ s work is reaching more people than ever , but our distinctive brand of explanatory journalism takes resources — particularly during a pandemic and an economic downturn .
Your financial contribution will not constitute a donation , but it will enable our staff to continue to offer free @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the quality and volume that this moment requires .
Please consider making a contribution to Vox today .

I have loved collecting stationery ever since I could remember: letter and envelope sets, puffy stickers, glitter gel pens, custom rubber stamps and colorful ink pads to make my own cards. So when I was visiting family two years ago in Hong Kong, it was no surprise that I would stop into every cute paper store, stretching my parents’ limits on patience.
Midway through my trip, with some spare time before dinner, I walked into Muji. If you have never been to Muji, it is a modern Japanese clothing and home goods store, full of blonde wood and basic clothing in loose silhouettes. I’ve also always liked their stationery: minimal, sleek, uniform. For some reason, I’d never actually bought any — the moment never felt right, or I had already blown through my budget, or I already ordered other stationery.
But that day, I walked to the area where all the pens were set upright, showcased on ascending acrylic shelves, with little blank notepads to test the ink. I picked up a pen and wrote: 香港加油, a blessing for my second home. The ink glistened in the light in a way that said “Today is the day you will be the owner of at least one Muji pen.” The pen felt good in my hand. I decided now was the time.
These pens — gel ink ballpoint in 0.5 mm — aren’t hard to find in the Muji stores in New York, where I live, but because there isn’t as big of an import tax in Hong Kong, I was able to splurge for three (black, blue, and green) for 80 cents each. Yes, buying them for $1.50 each in the US won’t break the bank, but if there’s one other thing I like besides stationery, it is a good deal.
Arriving home, I unpacked my suitcase, put the three pens in my ceramic pencil holder on my desk, and promptly forgot about them. I’d use them on occasion when my hand strayed for a pen to write a check or a quick note to USPS to please leave a package somewhere, but otherwise, they were comfortably nestled in with all the other pens and pencils I had gathered over the years.
In early March, when New York mandated a stay-at-home order, I knew that I wouldn’t be able to see my friends for a long time. All of a sudden, I was getting email invites to schedule Zoom calls, FaceTimes, WhatsApp videos. Group texts exploded and, weirdly, so did chain emails. I felt loved and thought of, knowing so many of my friends wanted to stay connected, but it was overwhelming to make the emotional time to be present, especially because all of a sudden, every worry I had about my future, my family, the world, heightened.
Unlike face-to-face interactions where I had the freedom to move around, look around, be in a new setting, I was instead spending hours staring at my own grainy face in a square floating on my laptop screen. On most group Zoom calls, the sense of intimacy is flattened, so instead of finding pockets of one-on-one chats within a larger group, I felt like I was always jockeying for the space to talk. It became stressful having to figure out when was an opportune time to share news or take up airspace or find some way to segue without also feeling self-conscious about making the next five minutes all about myself.
On most group Zoom calls, the sense of intimacy is flattened
So a week into the stay-at-home order, I decided to start writing letters: one letter (or postcard) a day, to a different friend, so that each friend would receive at least one letter from me a month. I was not looking for replies; it was mostly a good excuse, I thought, to finally put my stationery to use. And of course, I opted to use my Muji pens because I knew they were reliable. They were also no-frills, so as to not take away from the choice of stationery or the actual content of the letter itself. The pens themselves were easy to hold, smooth with a rounded exterior, which was good as I hadn’t been doing much writing by hand in the last decade. My hands had increasingly become accustomed to flying across a laptop keyboard, used to the quick tap-tapping on the tip of my fingers; to relearn how to use my whole hand again was an exercise in patience, building up the muscle memory of a pre-screen age from a not-so-distant past.
In a letter, though, I could take as long as I wanted to wax poetic about the places I missed in New York (the Temple of Dendur at the Met, the Cloisters, the Flushing food mall, the bike loop around Prospect Park), remark on the seasons changing (at one point, I gave updates on the tree outside my bedroom which, in the four months I had been at home, had transformed from wintry barren to a springtime explosion of pink cherry blossom to a lush early-summer green). When I actually had the mental space to read, I would share about the books I finished, writing in exuberant detail about what I loved about the prose or the characters. I recommended recipes, wrote down funny jokes I had heard from TV shows, remarked on the small changes in my neighborhood. I even started to really write about the weather: how the wind passed through the vines trellising on the building across from my bedroom; how the dry heat one day reminded me of summers in LA. Every moment became an interesting bit of news because there was nothing really new happening to me.
All my memories of the past months had been made in the same square footage space of my apartment or in the two-mile radius where I’ve walked. While my plans were put on hold, life outside still went on, so I documented it in writing.
With each letter, I think of how they will read years, decades, from now. What will a future generation (or even me in 30 years) remember from this time? Should I sound smarter in my letter-writing? Funnier? More serious? What if I add an “LOL”—will that make historians who come across these letters think I am a dummy? For now, I am trying not to think too much of preserving this time period, and more of just trying to reach out, give a friend 5 minutes of solace. And it’s become a catharsis for me, too.
Every moment became an interesting bit of news because there was nothing really new happening to me
As a freelancer who works from home, not having the spontaneity to take a break and hop on the subway, to meet a friend for a quick lunch, took a toll on my mental well-being. Writing letters became a way for me to have some sort of a schedule, and even a daily momentary pleasurable thing to look forward to. It also became a space for reflection in the morning, both on what the day will entail and on the particular friend I was writing to that day.
After breakfast around 8 am each day, I wipe down my coffee table, select a card and envelope, affix a stamp, and open up Excel to see who hasn’t received a card in the past month (Yes, I have a spreadsheet for everything). I dutifully write their address on the envelope, and sit for a moment. What can I say in this letter that will bring this friend joy? Is there an inside joke I can include? What about a memory?
Sometimes a friend writes back, so when they do, I pull up their letter and respond to their questions, too, while asking my own. Long conversations have been born from this back-and-forth. Unlike text messages in which we try to say everything we can before we move on with our days, or on a video call where it feels even more ephemeral, answering a letter gives me the opportunity to reflect and truly think about what I want to say, to share.
I’ll pause, occasionally, mid-sentence, my Muji pen still on the paper. No matter how long I pause, though, the ink doesn’t seep through the page and spread out like other pens. It doesn’t betray that I may have made a mistake or realize I don’t actually know what my next sentence is going to be.
My pens are running low now, but with every letter, no matter the paper source, the ink holds its own beautifully. The pen glides effortlessly with no drag or smearing and I know it’s not only because my handwriting has gotten better, but because the relationship I have to these pens seems to have grown deeper with each note I write. On July 13, Muji announced they were filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the US. Now, with each letter I write, I worry that it could be the last before my pens are fully tapped out. Each letter has become even more precious than before; imbued with a hope that while these pens won’t last forever, perhaps these letters will.
Vivian Lee is a writer and editor living in Queens, New York.


vox--2020-08-18--The next challenge for plant-based meat: Winning the price war against animal meat

The last couple of years have been consequential ones for meatless meat , as we at Future Perfect have documented .
For all meatless meat ’ s success , however , advocates shouldn ’ t feel complacent .
After all , meatless meat still makes up less than 1 percent of the annual meat consumption in the US — hardly a dent in how we eat .
Perhaps one of the biggest obstacles to mass meatless meat consumption becomes apparent when you get to the checkout line at your local grocery store .
One pound of factory-farmed beef burgers at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
One pound of , say , Beyond Meat ’ s Beyond Beef burgers ?
$ 6.25/pound .
That price disparity may well be a big factor keeping meatless meat from breaking through in a big way .
The pandemic has only underscored the importance of making meatless meat be a mainstream alternative to factory-farmed meat .
Slaughterhouses , long notorious for their terrible working conditions , have been overwhelmed with coronavirus cases , in some cases because they responded to the coronavirus crisis by telling employees not to take any sick leave @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , agriculture companies have engaged in mass cullings of animals they couldn ’ t sell , and the price of animal meat has gone up and remains higher than typical .
And then there are the larger-scale problems that the pandemic reminded the world of : It is a public health hazard to raise animals in crowded conditions that can incubate and rapidly spread disease .
All those problems have buoyed the plant-based meat industry , which was already coming off a record-setting year when the coronavirus crisis started .
The simple idea @ @ @ @ @ @ @ make food that tastes like meat , has the same nutrient profile as meat , and doesn ’ t come from animals — solving the environmental , public health , and ethical problems with factory farms in one swoop .
Consumers are interested .
More and more companies have launched plant-based meat brands , more and more fast food and casual dining restaurants have added menu options , and major players in the field have raised a lot of money — including a new $ 200 million in fundraising at Impossible Foods , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ battle — getting consumers interested enough to try plant-based foods , and investors interested enough to fund them — plant-based meat companies are setting their sights on a bigger challenge : getting plant-based meat products as cheap as animal meat products are .
The plant-based meat industry has to be bigger to compete with animal products on price — and competing on price is a key component of getting bigger as an industry .
There ’ s a lot at stake .
Billions of animals are raised on factory farms and killed for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The way we raise them contributes to climate change , antibiotic resistance , swine and bird flus , workers ’ rights abuses , and animal cruelty on an appalling scale .
But all the corners we ’ ve cut in animal farming mean that meat is cheap .
To give every person access to plant-based alternatives and to meaningfully transition away from factory farming , plant-based alternatives have to get just as cheap — without cutting any of the same corners .
Why is meat so cheap anyway ?
One big challenge @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on price with regular meat .
It ’ s a steep challenge because meat in America is shockingly , unprecedentedly cheap .
The average price for a meat alternative sold in a grocers ’ meat department in the US last year was $ 9.87/pound .
The average price for beef ?
$ 4.82/pound .
Chicken is even cheaper , at $ 2.33/pound .
That ’ s a big difference , and might go a long way toward explaining why even as consumer interest increases and the flavor profile of plant-based meats gets closer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ animal meats , plant-based meats still make up only about 0.5 percent of meat sales in the U.S. “ The most processed cheap forms of chicken are just insanely cheap , relative to historical standards and relative to other food products on the market , ” Lewis Bollard , who researches animals at the Open Philanthropy Project , told me .
“ The chicken industry has managed to cut all their corners , they don ’ t pay their environmental bills , they don ’ t pay for a lot of the public @ @ @ @ @ @ @ managed to produce a product that is just artificially cheap and hard to compete with.
” Animal agriculture is also heavily subsidized by the federal government .
That said , neither Bollard nor Zak Weston , a researcher at the Good Food Institute , thought direct monetary subsidies were the main reason meat was so cheap .
More important are invisible forms of subsidization like not enforcing worker ’ s rights , exempting factory farms from animal cruelty laws , not requiring companies to engage in environmental cleanup , and not restricting practices @ @ @ @ @ @ @ costs on the whole world .
“ It ’ s not the case that plant-based meat is weirdly expensive or labor intensive or something , ” Weston told me .
“ The animal protein industry has spent decades wringing incredible efficiencies out of every part of the program .
Animal meat gets to externalize a lot of its negatives — externalities like health care , ecological , worker welfare , animal welfare.
” In other words , if the animal meat industry were held accountable for the costs their products and their workings @ @ @ @ @ @ @ much more expensive .
Plant-based meat is getting cheaper , but it still doesn ’ t beat animal meat “ The three priorities we set ourselves are to develop products that from a sensory perspective closely resemble animal meat , the second is nutrition , and then the third is about cost , ” Chuck Muth , chief growth officer at Beyond Meat , told me .
“ We know that to democratize our brand , we ’ ve got to bring the price down.
” “ We were thinking about cost reductions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ commodity ground beef from the very beginning , ” David Lee , chief financial officer of Impossible Foods , told me .
“ We knew that if we had the best product at the same cost then consumers would vote with their stomachs.
” In the last few years , they ’ ve already made progress .
Companies were wary of sharing with me specific figures on their costs , but based on Securities and Exchange Commission filings , Bollard estimates that Beyond ’ s cost of production has fallen from $ 4.50/pound @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Impossible declined to share similar numbers but noted that they ’ d cut their prices 15 percent earlier this year because of savings from scaling up their operations .
At a few outlets , such as Dunkin ’ , the Beyond Sausage Sandwich sells for the exact same price as the meat sausage sandwich — and Muth confirmed that Beyond ’ s products do much better when they ’ re listed at the same price as meat .
“ The thing we like to say here , ” Muth said , “ is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and shoppers think about what they eat .
We don ’ t want pricing to be a barrier when they ’ re considering that .
We ’ d like to take pricing out of that conversation as best as we can.
” There ’ s no single brilliant secret to making a mass-manufactured product cheaper .
Instead , experts told me , it ’ s a matter of relentlessly making every element of the supply chain , the manufacturing process , and the distribution process work slightly better .
“ A lot of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Muth told me .
When a company is big enough , it can make purchases at scale , get expensive equipment that ’ s only worthwhile if it ’ ll be used to make an enormous number of products , have distribution centers in lots of different parts of the world to minimize transportation costs , and negotiate better deals for its supplies .
“ As we scale up , our costs naturally go down , ” Lee told me .
That means there ’ s the potential for a virtuous cycle @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who make further cost savings possible .
Plant-based meat started out small and is still only a fraction of the market share of animal meat , but as it gets bigger , more of these options open up .
Beyond Meat has opened factories in more countries and inked deals with wholesaler clubs such as Costco to make its products available more cheaply .
The company has a commitment to , by 2024 , sell at least one product that ’ s at the same price — or cheaper — than animal meat @ @ @ @ @ @ @ keep falling .
“ It really just boils down to scale and optimization .
Developing operational efficiency is something that takes years , and the animal ag industry has a multi-decade head start on this .
As the quantity produced goes up , we ’ ll be able to drive up operational efficiencies , ” he told me .
Another key problem to solve is sourcing cheap protein .
Animal agriculture mostly feeds animals corn , wheat , and soy — some of the cheapest crops out there — and plant-based foods that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and soy are among the plant-based foods that are closest to the price of meat .
But the plant-based meat companies that have made the most headlines for their uncanny verisimilitude to meat — Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods — use novel proteins like mung beans and peas .
Those are considerably more expensive , and getting them cheaper would be a critical step in getting plant-based products cheaper .
( Another option would be abandoning these fancier proteins ; plant-based foods in Europe and China largely use wheat and soy protein , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ well with consumers . )
There is reason for optimism .
After only a few years of research and development , plant-based meat products are already within striking distance of animal ones .
There is likely lots of low-hanging fruit in optimizing the supply chain and production process for these products because they ’ re so new .
“ The single most impactful intervention is R & D which is going to make these products better and cheaper , ” Weston told me .
Investors seem interested in making sure that research happens @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has swung wildly over the last year but is currently almost double what it was at its IPO last year .
Impossible Foods , privately held , announced on Thursday that it had secured $ 200 million in new funding .
And many existing meat companies are expanding their range of plant-based offerings .
Those investors and companies are betting that as plant-based meat gets better at competing with animal-based meat — on price , flavor , and availability — it will claim a bigger and bigger share of the global market for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , it ’ d be a rare piece of good news in a dismal 2020 .
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Today , we ’ re humbled to say that nearly 20,000 people have chipped in .
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The last couple of years have been consequential ones for meatless meat, as we at Future Perfect have documented. For all meatless meat’s success, however, advocates shouldn’t feel complacent. After all, meatless meat still makes up less than 1 percent of the annual meat consumption in the US — hardly a dent in how we eat.
Perhaps one of the biggest obstacles to mass meatless meat consumption becomes apparent when you get to the checkout line at your local grocery store.
Sign up for the Meat/Less newsletter course Want to eat less meat but don’t know where to start? Sign up for Vox’s five-day newsletter full of practical tips — and food for thought — to incorporate more plant-based food into your diet.
One pound of factory-farmed beef burgers at the Walmart near me? $2.80/pound.
One pound of, say, Beyond Meat’s Beyond Beef burgers? $6.25/pound.
That price disparity may well be a big factor keeping meatless meat from breaking through in a big way.
The pandemic has only underscored the importance of making meatless meat be a mainstream alternative to factory-farmed meat. Slaughterhouses, long notorious for their terrible working conditions, have been overwhelmed with coronavirus cases, in some cases because they responded to the coronavirus crisis by telling employees not to take any sick leave for any reason. With slaughterhouses shuttered, agriculture companies have engaged in mass cullings of animals they couldn’t sell, and the price of animal meat has gone up and remains higher than typical.
And then there are the larger-scale problems that the pandemic reminded the world of: It is a public health hazard to raise animals in crowded conditions that can incubate and rapidly spread disease.
All those problems have buoyed the plant-based meat industry, which was already coming off a record-setting year when the coronavirus crisis started. The simple idea of plant-based meat is that we can make food that tastes like meat, has the same nutrient profile as meat, and doesn’t come from animals — solving the environmental, public health, and ethical problems with factory farms in one swoop.
Consumers are interested. More and more companies have launched plant-based meat brands, more and more fast food and casual dining restaurants have added menu options, and major players in the field have raised a lot of money — including a new $200 million in fundraising at Impossible Foods, announced Thursday.
Having won the first battle — getting consumers interested enough to try plant-based foods, and investors interested enough to fund them — plant-based meat companies are setting their sights on a bigger challenge: getting plant-based meat products as cheap as animal meat products are. The plant-based meat industry has to be bigger to compete with animal products on price — and competing on price is a key component of getting bigger as an industry.
There’s a lot at stake. Billions of animals are raised on factory farms and killed for food in the United States every year. The way we raise them contributes to climate change, antibiotic resistance, swine and bird flus, workers’ rights abuses, and animal cruelty on an appalling scale. But all the corners we’ve cut in animal farming mean that meat is cheap. To give every person access to plant-based alternatives and to meaningfully transition away from factory farming, plant-based alternatives have to get just as cheap — without cutting any of the same corners.
Why is meat so cheap anyway?
One big challenge for meatless meat is to become competitive on price with regular meat. It’s a steep challenge because meat in America is shockingly, unprecedentedly cheap.
The average price for a meat alternative sold in a grocers’ meat department in the US last year was $9.87/pound. The average price for beef? $4.82/pound. Chicken is even cheaper, at $2.33/pound.
That’s a big difference, and might go a long way toward explaining why even as consumer interest increases and the flavor profile of plant-based meats gets closer and closer to the flavor profile of animal meats, plant-based meats still make up only about 0.5 percent of meat sales in the U.S.
“The most processed cheap forms of chicken are just insanely cheap, relative to historical standards and relative to other food products on the market,” Lewis Bollard, who researches animals at the Open Philanthropy Project, told me. “The chicken industry has managed to cut all their corners, they don’t pay their environmental bills, they don’t pay for a lot of the public health hazards they cause. They have managed to produce a product that is just artificially cheap and hard to compete with.”
Animal agriculture is also heavily subsidized by the federal government. That said, neither Bollard nor Zak Weston, a researcher at the Good Food Institute, thought direct monetary subsidies were the main reason meat was so cheap. More important are invisible forms of subsidization like not enforcing worker’s rights, exempting factory farms from animal cruelty laws, not requiring companies to engage in environmental cleanup, and not restricting practices — like antibiotic overuse — that impose costs on the whole world.
“It’s not the case that plant-based meat is weirdly expensive or labor intensive or something,” Weston told me. “The animal protein industry has spent decades wringing incredible efficiencies out of every part of the program. Animal meat gets to externalize a lot of its negatives — externalities like health care, ecological, worker welfare, animal welfare.”
In other words, if the animal meat industry were held accountable for the costs their products and their workings inflict on society, meat would be much more expensive.
Plant-based meat is getting cheaper, but it still doesn’t beat animal meat
“The three priorities we set ourselves are to develop products that from a sensory perspective closely resemble animal meat, the second is nutrition, and then the third is about cost,” Chuck Muth, chief growth officer at Beyond Meat, told me. “We know that to democratize our brand, we’ve got to bring the price down.”
“We were thinking about cost reductions and getting to the cost structure of commodity ground beef from the very beginning,” David Lee, chief financial officer of Impossible Foods, told me. “We knew that if we had the best product at the same cost then consumers would vote with their stomachs.”
In the last few years, they’ve already made progress. Companies were wary of sharing with me specific figures on their costs, but based on Securities and Exchange Commission filings, Bollard estimates that Beyond’s cost of production has fallen from $4.50/pound last year to $3.50/pound now.
Impossible declined to share similar numbers but noted that they’d cut their prices 15 percent earlier this year because of savings from scaling up their operations. At a few outlets, such as Dunkin’, the Beyond Sausage Sandwich sells for the exact same price as the meat sausage sandwich — and Muth confirmed that Beyond’s products do much better when they’re listed at the same price as meat.
“The thing we like to say here,” Muth said, “is we’re changing the way consumers and shoppers think about what they eat. We don’t want pricing to be a barrier when they’re considering that. We’d like to take pricing out of that conversation as best as we can.”
How to make plant-based meat cheap
There’s no single brilliant secret to making a mass-manufactured product cheaper. Instead, experts told me, it’s a matter of relentlessly making every element of the supply chain, the manufacturing process, and the distribution process work slightly better.
“A lot of issues today are really around scale,” Muth told me. When a company is big enough, it can make purchases at scale, get expensive equipment that’s only worthwhile if it’ll be used to make an enormous number of products, have distribution centers in lots of different parts of the world to minimize transportation costs, and negotiate better deals for its supplies. “As we scale up, our costs naturally go down,” Lee told me. That means there’s the potential for a virtuous cycle where lower costs recruit more consumers, who make further cost savings possible.
Plant-based meat started out small and is still only a fraction of the market share of animal meat, but as it gets bigger, more of these options open up. Beyond Meat has opened factories in more countries and inked deals with wholesaler clubs such as Costco to make its products available more cheaply. The company has a commitment to, by 2024, sell at least one product that’s at the same price — or cheaper — than animal meat.
Weston expected plant-based meat prices to keep falling. “It really just boils down to scale and optimization. Developing operational efficiency is something that takes years, and the animal ag industry has a multi-decade head start on this. As the quantity produced goes up, we’ll be able to drive up operational efficiencies,” he told me.
Another key problem to solve is sourcing cheap protein. Animal agriculture mostly feeds animals corn, wheat, and soy — some of the cheapest crops out there — and plant-based foods that are made from corn, wheat, and soy are among the plant-based foods that are closest to the price of meat.
But the plant-based meat companies that have made the most headlines for their uncanny verisimilitude to meat — Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods — use novel proteins like mung beans and peas. Those are considerably more expensive, and getting them cheaper would be a critical step in getting plant-based products cheaper. (Another option would be abandoning these fancier proteins; plant-based foods in Europe and China largely use wheat and soy protein, and they’ve still gone over well with consumers.)
There is reason for optimism. After only a few years of research and development, plant-based meat products are already within striking distance of animal ones. There is likely lots of low-hanging fruit in optimizing the supply chain and production process for these products because they’re so new. “The single most impactful intervention is R&D which is going to make these products better and cheaper,” Weston told me.
Investors seem interested in making sure that research happens. Beyond Meat’s stock price has swung wildly over the last year but is currently almost double what it was at its IPO last year. Impossible Foods, privately held, announced on Thursday that it had secured $200 million in new funding. And many existing meat companies are expanding their range of plant-based offerings.
Those investors and companies are betting that as plant-based meat gets better at competing with animal-based meat — on price, flavor, and availability — it will claim a bigger and bigger share of the global market for meat. If they’re right, it’d be a rare piece of good news in a dismal 2020.
Will you become our 20,000th supporter? When the economy took a downturn in the spring and we started asking readers for financial contributions, we weren’t sure how it would go. Today, we’re humbled to say that nearly 20,000 people have chipped in. The reason is both lovely and surprising: Readers told us that they contribute both because they value explanation and because they value that other people can access it, too. We have always believed that explanatory journalism is vital for a functioning democracy. That’s never been more important than today, during a public health crisis, racial justice protests, a recession, and a presidential election. But our distinctive explanatory journalism is expensive, and advertising alone won’t let us keep creating it at the quality and volume this moment requires. Your financial contribution will not constitute a donation, but it will help keep Vox free for all. Contribute today from as little as $3.


vox--2020-08-18--Why Alaska’s Senate and House races look competitive in 2020

For evidence that Democrats have expanded their map of competitive US Senate and House races , look no further than Alaska .
Alaska voted for President Donald Trump by close to 15 percentage points in 2016 , but it is nothing if not fiercely independent — featuring the highest number of independent voters of any state .
National Democrats would like to capitalize on that , hoping to unseat Republican incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan with Dr. Al Gross , an independent candidate running for the Democratic nomination .
Another independent candidate , educator Alyse Galvin , is making her second @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by Alaska ’ s at-large Republican Rep. Don Young , who , at age 87 , is the longest-serving member of Congress .
Galvin lost to Young in the 2018 midterms but is hoping a political year that ’ s looking favorable to Democrats could sweep her into office .
Although Gross and Galvin are independents , they are each running for the Democratic party ’ s nomination in Tuesday ’ s primary , along with several others .
Each has a key advantage : Gross has the backing of the Democratic Senatorial @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee-endorsed candidate .
And both are favored to win their respective races .
Whether they will actually be successful in the general election is yet to be seen .
Beyond having to face incumbents , the winners of the Democratic primaries will face unique hurdles due to the pandemic : The coronavirus has severely limited in-person campaigning , which could hurt challengers running in such a massive state .
Still , the fact that national Democrats have two serious candidates running for House and Senate in a cycle that could @ @ @ @ @ @ @ means Alaska ’ s congressional races could heat up this year .
Gross , an orthopedic surgeon and commercial fisherman whose Alaska credentials include shooting a grizzly bear in self-defense , is the favorite to win a four-person Tuesday primary .
He has fundraised over $ 5 million , compared to Sullivan ’ s $ 7.9 million .
Gross is the son of former Alaska Attorney General Av Gross , a Democrat who forged a close relationship with former Republican Gov .
Jay Hammond .
“ I ’ ve never really been much @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” Gross told Vox in a recent interview , describing himself as “ certainly less liberal than the far left of the Democratic party.
” The other Democratic and independent candidates running including former Seward , Alaska , Mayor Edgar Blatchford , nonprofit employee Chris Cumings , and the Alaskan Independence Party ’ s John Howe .
Sullivan is still favored to win reelection by the nonpartisan forecasters Cook Political Report and Sabato ’ s Crystal Ball , who both rate the race “ likely Republican.
” But Alaska Senate races have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ voters aren ’ t necessarily likely to toe the party line , facts reflected in their elected officials .
For example , even with Trump ’ s resounding 2016 win , Alaska ’ s other Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski is notoriously independent and has broken with Trump and Senate Republicans on several occasions .
Notably , Murkowski also ran — and won — a write-in campaign in 2010 after losing the Republican nomination for Senate .
“ The bottom line is that Sullivan is favored ... but Alaska voters have been willing to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and I wouldn ’ t sleep on the Senate race , ” said J .
Miles Coleman , associate editor at Sabato ’ s Crystal Ball .
Although registered as an independent , Gross fits in the mold of moderate Democratic candidates running in many Senate races across the country .
Gross supports a public option for health insurance and expanding Alaska ’ s renewable energy capacity .
As a hunter and fisherman in a state known for its outdoor recreation , he ’ s also a strong supporter of the Second Amendment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ moderate ; I do have some conservative values , ” Gross told Vox .
“ I grew up on some commercial fishing boats here on Alaska and still do that part time .
I don ’ t share the liberal views of the Democratic party when it comes to guns.
” Running as an independent may be a smart political strategy for the state .
Coleman pointed out that even though Alaska traditionally votes Republican in presidential races , Senate races in the state tend to be more competitive , and that third-party @ @ @ @ @ @ @ presidential race , 12 percent of the vote went to third-party candidates , and in 2000 , it was Green Party candidate Ralph Nader ’ s best state , with 10 percent of the vote , Coleman said .
Another potentially smart strategy for Gross is to emphasize his longtime roots in the state ; one of his ads was filmed on a commercial fishing boat , while the other features Gross skiing down a glacier .
“ Sullivan , as Gross points out in one of his ads , is from Ohio @ @ @ @ @ @ @ He spent time in Alaska earlier in his career as a judicial clerk , left the state , then only returned in 2009 , to work for the Palin administration .
So , fairly or not , Gross — whose father was state attorney general decades ago — is tying to ‘ out-Alaska ’ Sullivan.
” It ’ s hard to know the state of the race as Alaska is notoriously difficult to poll .
An early July Public Policy Polling survey found Sullivan 5 points ahead , while a more recent Alaska @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ahead .
In order to win , Gross will likely need the support of Alaska Native villagers and independent voters as well as registered Democrats .
He may be the underdog of the race , but Alaska is looking more competitive this year .
Young fended off a challenge from Alyse Galvin in the 2018 midterms — a wave year for Democrats .
Although Young is currently slightly favored to win in 2020 ( Cook Political Report rates the race “ leans Republican ” ) , this year could be an even tougher @ @ @ @ @ @ @ already received heat for early comments he made about the novel coronavirus , calling it “ the beer virus ” in front of constituents in March , and blaming the media for making a big deal out of it .
Young also skipped a House vote on coronavirus relief aid , according to the Anchorage Daily News .
As far away as Alaska is from the mainland United States , it certainly hasn ’ t been immune to Covid-19 .
Alaska has seen around 5,021 coronavirus cases and 28 deaths , per NBC @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the state due to a loss of tourism has been grim , according to a report from Alaska Public Media .
Even though she hasn ’ t held an in-person event since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic , Galvin has slightly out-fundraised Young — giving her financial power to go up on Alaska ’ s airwaves .
Galvin lost to Young in 2018 by around 7 points , but in doing so , she came the closest any candidate has to unseating him .
On Tuesday , she ’ ll be going @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sean Tugatuk , while Young will face Gerald Heikes and Thomas Nelson in the Republican primary .
Should both Galvin and Young win their primaries , as they are expected to , they will face off in what will likely be a fierce rematch of their race two years ago .
Will you become our 20,000th supporter ?
When the economy took a downturn in the spring and we started asking readers for financial contributions , we weren ’ t sure how it would go .
Today , we ’ re humbled to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in .
The reason is both lovely and surprising : Readers told us that they contribute both because they value explanation and because they value that other people can access it , too .
We have always believed that explanatory journalism is vital for a functioning democracy .
That ’ s never been more important than today , during a public health crisis , racial justice protests , a recession , and a presidential election .
But our distinctive explanatory journalism is expensive , and advertising alone won ’ t let us keep @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this moment requires .
Your financial contribution will not constitute a donation , but it will help keep Vox free for all .
Contribute today from as little as $ 3 .

For evidence that Democrats have expanded their map of competitive US Senate and House races, look no further than Alaska.
Alaska voted for President Donald Trump by close to 15 percentage points in 2016, but it is nothing if not fiercely independent — featuring the highest number of independent voters of any state. National Democrats would like to capitalize on that, hoping to unseat Republican incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan with Dr. Al Gross, an independent candidate running for the Democratic nomination.
Another independent candidate, educator Alyse Galvin, is making her second attempt to take the seat currently held by Alaska’s at-large Republican Rep. Don Young, who, at age 87, is the longest-serving member of Congress. Galvin lost to Young in the 2018 midterms but is hoping a political year that’s looking favorable to Democrats could sweep her into office.
Although Gross and Galvin are independents, they are each running for the Democratic party’s nomination in Tuesday’s primary, along with several others. Each has a key advantage: Gross has the backing of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, while Galvin is the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee-endorsed candidate. And both are favored to win their respective races.
Whether they will actually be successful in the general election is yet to be seen. Beyond having to face incumbents, the winners of the Democratic primaries will face unique hurdles due to the pandemic: The coronavirus has severely limited in-person campaigning, which could hurt challengers running in such a massive state.
Still, the fact that national Democrats have two serious candidates running for House and Senate in a cycle that could be a wave year for the party means Alaska’s congressional races could heat up this year.
Vox will be covering the results live, with our partners at Decision Desk HQ.
The Alaska Senate race, briefly explained
Gross, an orthopedic surgeon and commercial fisherman whose Alaska credentials include shooting a grizzly bear in self-defense, is the favorite to win a four-person Tuesday primary. He has fundraised over $5 million, compared to Sullivan’s $7.9 million. Gross is the son of former Alaska Attorney General Av Gross, a Democrat who forged a close relationship with former Republican Gov. Jay Hammond.
“I’ve never really been much of a labels kind of a guy,” Gross told Vox in a recent interview, describing himself as “certainly less liberal than the far left of the Democratic party.”
The other Democratic and independent candidates running including former Seward, Alaska, Mayor Edgar Blatchford, nonprofit employee Chris Cumings, and the Alaskan Independence Party’s John Howe.
Sullivan is still favored to win reelection by the nonpartisan forecasters Cook Political Report and Sabato’s Crystal Ball, who both rate the race “likely Republican.” But Alaska Senate races have a habit of being competitive, and voters aren’t necessarily likely to toe the party line, facts reflected in their elected officials.
For example, even with Trump’s resounding 2016 win, Alaska’s other Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski is notoriously independent and has broken with Trump and Senate Republicans on several occasions. Notably, Murkowski also ran — and won — a write-in campaign in 2010 after losing the Republican nomination for Senate.
“The bottom line is that Sullivan is favored ... but Alaska voters have been willing to split their tickets over the years, and I wouldn’t sleep on the Senate race,” said J. Miles Coleman, associate editor at Sabato’s Crystal Ball.
Although registered as an independent, Gross fits in the mold of moderate Democratic candidates running in many Senate races across the country.
Gross supports a public option for health insurance and expanding Alaska’s renewable energy capacity. As a hunter and fisherman in a state known for its outdoor recreation, he’s also a strong supporter of the Second Amendment.
“I would call myself a moderate; I do have some conservative values,” Gross told Vox. “I grew up on some commercial fishing boats here on Alaska and still do that part time. I don’t share the liberal views of the Democratic party when it comes to guns.”
Running as an independent may be a smart political strategy for the state. Coleman pointed out that even though Alaska traditionally votes Republican in presidential races, Senate races in the state tend to be more competitive, and that third-party candidates do well. In the 2016 presidential race, 12 percent of the vote went to third-party candidates, and in 2000, it was Green Party candidate Ralph Nader’s best state, with 10 percent of the vote, Coleman said. Another potentially smart strategy for Gross is to emphasize his longtime roots in the state; one of his ads was filmed on a commercial fishing boat, while the other features Gross skiing down a glacier.
“Sullivan, as Gross points out in one of his ads, is from Ohio originally,” Coleman said. “He spent time in Alaska earlier in his career as a judicial clerk, left the state, then only returned in 2009, to work for the Palin administration. So, fairly or not, Gross — whose father was state attorney general decades ago — is tying to ‘out-Alaska’ Sullivan.”
It’s hard to know the state of the race as Alaska is notoriously difficult to poll. An early July Public Policy Polling survey found Sullivan 5 points ahead, while a more recent Alaska Survey Research poll found Sullivan 13 points ahead.
In order to win, Gross will likely need the support of Alaska Native villagers and independent voters as well as registered Democrats. He may be the underdog of the race, but Alaska is looking more competitive this year.
Alaska’s At-Large Congressional race, briefly explained
Young fended off a challenge from Alyse Galvin in the 2018 midterms — a wave year for Democrats.
Although Young is currently slightly favored to win in 2020 (Cook Political Report rates the race “leans Republican”), this year could be an even tougher one for the GOP. Young has already received heat for early comments he made about the novel coronavirus, calling it “the beer virus” in front of constituents in March, and blaming the media for making a big deal out of it. Young also skipped a House vote on coronavirus relief aid, according to the Anchorage Daily News.
As far away as Alaska is from the mainland United States, it certainly hasn’t been immune to Covid-19. Alaska has seen around 5,021 coronavirus cases and 28 deaths, per NBC News, and the economic toll on the state due to a loss of tourism has been grim, according to a report from Alaska Public Media.
Even though she hasn’t held an in-person event since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, Galvin has out-fundraised Young, and has significantly more cash on hand — giving her financial power to go up on Alaska’s airwaves. Galvin lost to Young in 2018 by around 7 points. But the needle could be moving; the same early July Public Policy Polling poll that showed Gross five points behind Sullivan showed Galvin two points ahead of Young.
On Tuesday, she’ll be going up against candidates William Hibler and Ray Sean Tugatuk, while Young will face Gerald Heikes and Thomas Nelson in the Republican primary. Should both Galvin and Young win their primaries, as they are expected to, they will face off in what will likely be a fierce rematch of their race two years ago.
Correction: An earlier correction to this story said that in 2008, Ethan Berkowitz was the Democratic candidate who came the closest to beating Young. The candidate who actually came the closest was former Valdez Mayor John Devens, who came within 3.82 points of beating Young in 1990.
Will you become our 20,000th supporter? When the economy took a downturn in the spring and we started asking readers for financial contributions, we weren’t sure how it would go. Today, we’re humbled to say that nearly 20,000 people have chipped in. The reason is both lovely and surprising: Readers told us that they contribute both because they value explanation and because they value that other people can access it, too. We have always believed that explanatory journalism is vital for a functioning democracy. That’s never been more important than today, during a public health crisis, racial justice protests, a recession, and a presidential election. But our distinctive explanatory journalism is expensive, and advertising alone won’t let us keep creating it at the quality and volume this moment requires. Your financial contribution will not constitute a donation, but it will help keep Vox free for all. Contribute today from as little as $3.


vox--2020-08-18--Wyoming’s Senate primary pits a veteran Congress member against a party activist

On Tuesday , Republican primary voters will effectively choose their state ’ s next US senator .
Sen. Mike Enzi , the four-term Republican incumbent who ’ s served as chair of the Senate Budget Committee since 2015 , is retiring .
He and the state ’ s junior senator , John Barrasso , have both endorsed former Rep. Cynthia Lummis for the seat .
Lummis held Wyoming ’ s one and only House seat from 2009 to 2017 , when she retired ( Liz Cheney , daughter of former Vice President and Wyoming Rep. Dick Cheney , holds the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ support from establishment groups like the Chamber of Commerce and President Donald Trump , and from more grassroots conservative organizations .
During her time in Congress , she was the only woman in the right-wing House Freedom Caucus and pushed to block appropriations bills unless they defunded Obamacare , contributing to the October 2013 government shutdown .
There are nine other Republicans on the ballot , though , and the one with perhaps the best shot of upsetting Lummis in the primary is Air Force veteran Bryan Miller , who unsuccessfully challenged Enzi @ @ @ @ @ @ @ former chairman of the Sheridan County Republican Party , won a straw poll in late July for the seat at the Wyoming Republican Party ’ s convention .
Turnout , however , was low due to Covid-19 ( Miller got 126 votes to Lummis ’ s 65 , with Converse County Commissioner Robert Short in third ) , and the party leaders might not be the best representation of the rest of the state : The Casper Star-Tribune ’ s Nick Reynolds reports that the Wyoming state party is “ now almost fully @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the state ’ s most rural counties and arguably votes much differently from the Wyoming electorate writ large.
” Whoever wins the Republican primary is heavily favored to win the general election in November .
Wyoming hasn ’ t elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1970 , and most years the party barely competes .
In 2014 , Enzi defeated Charlie Hardy for reelection by a margin of 72.2 percent to 17.4 percent ; in 2018 , Gary Trauner got 30.1 percent to Barrasso ’ s 67 percent .
Nonetheless , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ polling , it is hard to know who ’ s the frontrunner , but the candidates are Yana Ludwig , a self-identified socialist with endorsements from local chapters of the Sunrise Movement , Democratic Socialists of America , and Our Revolution ; University of Wyoming zoology professor Merav Ben-David , who ’ s running a science- and climate-focused campaign ; climate think tanker Nathan Wendt , who boasts an endorsement from Sen. Tammy Duckworth ( D-IL ) ; activist James Kirk DeBrine , whom party leaders have called on to drop out after @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ableist , and sexist ; and perennial candidates Rex Wilde and Ken Casner .
The most likely result on Tuesday is a Lummis victory , followed by an easy general election win in November ; she has won six different statewide elections in the past , two for state treasurer and four for the US House .
But this is politics in 2020 , so surprises are always possible .
Will you become our 20,000th supporter ?
When the economy took a downturn in the spring and we started asking readers for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sure how it would go .
Today , we ’ re humbled to say that nearly 20,000 people have chipped in .
The reason is both lovely and surprising : Readers told us that they contribute both because they value explanation and because they value that other people can access it , too .
We have always believed that explanatory journalism is vital for a functioning democracy .
That ’ s never been more important than today , during a public health crisis , racial justice protests , a recession , and a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ journalism is expensive , and advertising alone won ’ t let us keep creating it at the quality and volume this moment requires .
Your financial contribution will not constitute a donation , but it will help keep Vox free for all .
Contribute today from as little as $ 3 .

On Tuesday, Republican primary voters will effectively choose their state’s next US senator.
Sen. Mike Enzi, the four-term Republican incumbent who’s served as chair of the Senate Budget Committee since 2015, is retiring. He and the state’s junior senator, John Barrasso, have both endorsed former Rep. Cynthia Lummis for the seat.
Lummis held Wyoming’s one and only House seat from 2009 to 2017, when she retired (Liz Cheney, daughter of former Vice President and Wyoming Rep. Dick Cheney, holds the seat currently). She has strong support from establishment groups like the Chamber of Commerce and President Donald Trump, and from more grassroots conservative organizations. During her time in Congress, she was the only woman in the right-wing House Freedom Caucus and pushed to block appropriations bills unless they defunded Obamacare, contributing to the October 2013 government shutdown.
There are nine other Republicans on the ballot, though, and the one with perhaps the best shot of upsetting Lummis in the primary is Air Force veteran Bryan Miller, who unsuccessfully challenged Enzi back in 2014. Miller, the former chairman of the Sheridan County Republican Party, won a straw poll in late July for the seat at the Wyoming Republican Party’s convention. Turnout, however, was low due to Covid-19 (Miller got 126 votes to Lummis’s 65, with Converse County Commissioner Robert Short in third), and the party leaders might not be the best representation of the rest of the state: The Casper Star-Tribune’s Nick Reynolds reports that the Wyoming state party is “now almost fully controlled by the most conservative activists residing in the state’s most rural counties and arguably votes much differently from the Wyoming electorate writ large.”
Whoever wins the Republican primary is heavily favored to win the general election in November. Wyoming hasn’t elected a Democrat to the Senate since 1970, and most years the party barely competes. In 2014, Enzi defeated Charlie Hardy for reelection by a margin of 72.2 percent to 17.4 percent; in 2018, Gary Trauner got 30.1 percent to Barrasso’s 67 percent.
Nonetheless, there are six Democratic candidates. Without polling, it is hard to know who’s the frontrunner, but the candidates are Yana Ludwig, a self-identified socialist with endorsements from local chapters of the Sunrise Movement, Democratic Socialists of America, and Our Revolution; University of Wyoming zoology professor Merav Ben-David, who’s running a science- and climate-focused campaign; climate think tanker Nathan Wendt, who boasts an endorsement from Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL); activist James Kirk DeBrine, whom party leaders have called on to drop out after attacks on his opponents they deemed anti-Semitic, ableist, and sexist; and perennial candidates Rex Wilde and Ken Casner.
The most likely result on Tuesday is a Lummis victory, followed by an easy general election win in November; she has won six different statewide elections in the past, two for state treasurer and four for the US House. But this is politics in 2020, so surprises are always possible.
Vox will be covering the results live, with our partners at Decision Desk HQ.
Will you become our 20,000th supporter? When the economy took a downturn in the spring and we started asking readers for financial contributions, we weren’t sure how it would go. Today, we’re humbled to say that nearly 20,000 people have chipped in. The reason is both lovely and surprising: Readers told us that they contribute both because they value explanation and because they value that other people can access it, too. We have always believed that explanatory journalism is vital for a functioning democracy. That’s never been more important than today, during a public health crisis, racial justice protests, a recession, and a presidential election. But our distinctive explanatory journalism is expensive, and advertising alone won’t let us keep creating it at the quality and volume this moment requires. Your financial contribution will not constitute a donation, but it will help keep Vox free for all. Contribute today from as little as $3.