A redshift, according to astrophysicists, occurs when a celestial object moves away from our earthly point of observance. Electromagnetic wavelengths stretch out, decreasing in frequency and energy, which causes us to perceive them on the crimson end of the visible light spectrum. As the universe expands, without concerted effort, most objects within it move away from our terrestrial position and thus vary in color. A redshift, according to a political scientist or liberal New Yorker, might represent something similar—a departure from an assumed point of view and partisan identity.
In the 2024 presidential election, just such a redshift rocked New York City. Though Donald Trump won only about 30 percent of the city’s total vote, this marked an improvement of more than 10 percent over his 2020 result. Scarlet splotches pooled out across electoral maps, most potently in predominantly nonwhite areas of the city. In the outer boroughs, particularly in central thoroughfares such as Fordham Road in the Bronx and Hillside Avenue in Queens, Black, Latino, and Asian votes mov…