The wealthiest Congressional districts are almost completely monopolized by the Democratic Party, according to a report by the Associated Press. Eight of the ten districts with the highest average incomes are represented by a Democrat, raising questions about the Democratic narrative that their policies are most attractive to the poor.
The AP notes that Democrats have been escalating their push to make their party more approachable to the middle classes and the poor, “complain[ing] about GOP opposition to raising the minimum wage and extending unemployment benefits.” The party faces a serious obstacle in presenting themselves as closer to the average American, however, as wealthy urban districts overwhelmingly vote Democratic.
Only two of the Congressional districts with the highest median household incomes are represented by Republicans: New Jersey District 7, represented by Rep. Leonard Lance, and Virginia District 10, represented by Rep. Frank Wolf. All top six districts are represented by Democrats, and the top four are all in New York or California.
The wealthiest district in America is New York’s 12th Congressional District, represented by Democrat Carolyn Maloney. The per capita income in that district, the Associated Press reports, is $75,479. The district includes Manhattan’s Upper East Side.
The Associated Press notes that, on the aggregate, Democratic districts are significantly wealthier. The average Democratic House district has a per capita income about $1,000 more than the average Republican House district.
The AP’s review of the Democratic Party’s popularity among the nation’s top earning bracket is not the first to align the interests of that party with the wealthy. A study published this month by MoneyRates.com found that income inequality is a far more serious problem in areas that voted for President Obama. According to that study, the states with the most income inequality overwhelmingly voted for President Obama in 2012. Unsurprisingly, California and New York – the states with the top two highest median incomes – were also the two most unequal states economically in the nation. Only Virginia did not appear on both the list of highest income earners and most income inequality.
Democrats have increasingly used the wealth of prominent Republicans to attack the party as a whole, alleging that the GOP has no grasp on the realities of middle-class living. As the road to the 2016 presidential election approaches, the liberal media has begun attacking Republican donor Sheldon Adelson for donating money to the Republican Party while also being wealthy. MSNBC host Chris Matthews compared Adelson’s presence at a meeting of the Republican Jewish Coalition this weekend to “prostitution” – this despite the fact that eleven of the top fifteen donor organizations in the United States donate overwhelmingly to the Democratic Party, as well.