New York City’s money men have called North Jersey “home” for nearly a century. The high priests of American capitalism — stockbrokers, analysts, and banking titans — have long ended their days on Wall Street by crossing the Hudson River’s tunnels and bridges, retreating to the tree-lined suburbs of Essex, Passaic, and Morris counties.
That migration never really slowed. If anything, demand for New Jersey’s suburban version of the American Dream surged during the COVID-19 lockdowns. What has changed, however, is how these communities vote. Once competitive, they are suddenly blue strongholds. The 11th Congressional District — drawing from all three of the aforementioned counties — just elected an actual, real-life “Democratic socialist” to represent it in Congress.
A socialist victory within commuting distance of Lower Manhattan would have seemed beyond absurd not long ago — like a barbecue chain hiring a vegan spokesperson. Yet here we are.
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