In a move that reeks of political opportunism, some Democratic governors are trying to lure laid-off federal workers into government jobs in their states. These gestures may seem altruistic on the surface, but beyond the smiles and slogans, it looks like a performative attempt to score political points and lift the party’s abysmal approval rating. With midterms approaching, these blue-state leaders need to do everything possible to prepare. But there's more to it than that. Their states and cities are floundering and losing thousands of residents yearly to outmigration. Perhaps they see a slew of unemployed government workers as potential economic drivers or future citizens who might help them avoid a nightmare scenario in the 2030 census.
Hochul’s ‘Travel Blog’
Governor Kathy Hochul has been the loudest of the Democrats promoting state jobs, encouraging people to “come work in the greatest state in the nation.” She even launched a hiring campaign dubbed “You’re Hired,” a jab at President Trump’s famous catchphrase from his Apprentice days. One ad in NYC reads, “DOGE says: ‘Your fired.’ New York says: ‘You’re hired.’” Other states that are marketing jobs to fired federal workers have not put forth the same effort. Some are merely offering resources to help the DC outcasts. But not Hochul. She is all in, it seems. Why?
One reason New York has pushed a “very aggressive marketing campaign” is because of outmigration, said Timothy R. Hogues, commissioner of the New York Department of Civil Service, speaking to the Boston Globe. It makes sense. New York has hemorrhaged residents over the last five years, more than 330,000 since 2020, according to the Census Bureau. The American Redistricting Project predicts the state could lose two House seats after reapportionment in 2030. Other blue states are in similar positions.
“Americans have been unintentionally sorting themselves for decades, moving to communities of like-minded people and turning states predominantly conservative or Democrat,” explained Liberty Nation in December 2024. “But in the last 20 years, more people have moved from blue to red states than from red to blue: nine million more, to be precise.” If the migration patterns continue, blue states could lose an estimated 12 electoral votes, and most, if not all, of those would likely go to red states, like Texas and Florida.
Is it far-fetched? Possibly, but the digital side of Hochul’s recruitment drive has a weird timeshare vibe, making this theory seem all the more plausible. “Not familiar with New York?” says a state website (ny.gov), near a brief video of the governor making a pitch to former federal employees. “Explore the beautiful 10 regions of our state.” Click the link, and the next page looks like a travel blog with vibrant photos zoomed in on colorful flowers. “Spring into New York,” reads the headline.
So far, only around 150 people have signed up to attend information sessions with the state’s Department of Labor.
Perhaps the ploy to gain new residents isn’t a motivator for all the Democratic governors trying to attract unemployed federal workers. That doesn’t mean their intentions are purely selfless or that behind those seemingly warm smiles, a plot doesn’t exist to benefit politically from these recruitment efforts. Even if nobody is hired through the endeavor, the Democratic Party will still have accomplished one thing: gaining attention.
Failure to Lure Federal Workers
With midterms looming, the Democratic Party needs to throw a hundred Hail Marys and cross its fingers and toes for the next year just to keep from digging a deeper hole. A major factor in the party’s downfall is that “Democrats are losing the war of attention,” said Dean Obeidallah of Salon Talks, a YouTube show, in a conversation with MSNBC host and author Chris Hayes. “I have members of Congress on my radio show,” said Obeidallah, “and they get slightly defensive when I go, ‘You guys are not fighting back hard.’ They’ll list what they’re doing. I’m like, ‘Well, it didn’t make press coverage.’”
But some have now found a way to get their names in the papers and play savior. Hawaii’s governor signed an executive order to fast-track hiring for applicants. New Mexico has created recruitment events statewide. Governor Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania has directed his administration to launch an “awareness and recruitment campaign” for federal workers. Maryland has also created various initiatives to help former federal workers. More noticeable, however, are the potshots at the president.
“We won’t denigrate you,” says Hochul in a video ad. “We will treat you with dignity and respect that you deserve because, in New York, we know it’s not the demagogues and the technocrats who make America great, it’s public servants.”
“If the Trump administration turned you away, Minnesota wants you,” said Gov. Tim Walz.
Officials from Pennsylvania, New York, and Massachusetts spoke to the Boston Globe and “denied their recruitment initiatives were politically motivated or primarily implemented to send a message to the Trump administration.”
Still, the whole thing has an air of “Look how good and empathetic we are.” After that disastrous night during Trump’s joint session address, Democrats need all the good press they can get. But, for Democrats to win the attention game against Trump, they’ll need more than advertising campaigns. Yes, “All attention is good attention, even negative attention,” said Hayes. “[T]he point is to dominate attentional space.”
By repeatedly putting themselves out there for something as innocuous-seeming as trying to hire fired federal workers, they are getting some attention, but it’s seemingly neither good nor bad. Instead, it appears to fall into another category, one to which only the left has access. It’s distant and irrelevant and seems to repel people. The harder they try, the more desperate they appear.
Despite all their shenanigans, they might win over a few hearts and help a handful of former federal employees in the process. Nothing wrong with that. However, until Democrats can convince Americans that they care more about the country than their agenda, few people will want to work for their state governments or move to their cities.
