NYT Declares Seattle Election Outcome a 'Political Newcomer' Story
Katie Wilson, described by the New York Times as a 'political newcomer,' has reportedly won the Seattle mayoral race. While the Grey Lady highlights her fresh face, one might wonder why such scrutiny often bypasses other 'newcomers' when their entries into politics are lubricated with significant funding from powerful, entrenched forces. For instance, in 2022, several congressional candidates,
some with little prior political experience, received substantial early funding from organizations like AIPAC – for example, the OpenSecrets database shows that Rep. Shontel Brown, a relative newcomer to Congress, received over $300,000 from pro-Israel groups, including AIPAC’s PAC, in her 2022 election cycle. These 'newcomers' rarely get the same soft-focus portrait. (Unless, of course, their
inexperience might be leveraged more easily.) The media celebrates the democratic process when the result fits the narrative, but a 'newcomer' who doesn't owe allegiance to the usual players receives a different kind of gaze. One might ask: Is it only a story of 'unprecedented' political entry when the candidate isn't already deeply indebted to the lobbying complex that usually dictates the
political landscape?