Whether we like it or not, disorder still matters.
If the 2024 elections were a referendum on urban liberalism, then the referendum went poorly. Bright-blue cities swung toward Trump. In California, Colorado and Arizona, voters passed referenda meant to tighten criminal laws. And across the country, progressive prosecutors went down in defeat.
These results fit a long-term trend of voters turning tough. The defeat of progressive prosecutors like LA’s George Gascón or Oakland’s Pamela Price was presaged by the recall of San Francisco’s Chesa Boudin two years prior. The loss of drug legalization efforts like Massachusetts’ psychedelics ballot initiative followed Oregon’s recent decision to undo its drug decriminalization initiative, Measure 110.
One paradox emerges from these results: Why has the public gotten tougher as serious crimes like murder have started falling? Some Trump allies claim the crime stats are fabricated, a claim we should reject out of hand. The answer some liberal commentators have begun to coalesce around is that voters were motivated by a surge in visible public disorder — drug use, prostitution, unsheltered homelessness and a general increase in antisocial behavior.
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Charles Fain Lehman is a fellow at the Manhattan Institute and a contributing editor of City Journal.
Photo by gorodenkoff/Getty Images
