Campaign Chaos (Continued)
The past few weeks have been a political roller coaster in terms of the 2024 presidential election, with no end in sight.
After a disastrous debate performance by President Biden contrasted by a highly successful Republican National Convention, it looked like Election 2024 was game over…until a couple of weeks later Mr. Biden announced he was withdrawing and backing Vice President Kamala Harris for the nomination.
A flood of key endorsements quickly followed, along with record fundraising mostly from small donors, and most recently all the media intrigue about who she would pick as her running mate (Tim Walz, Minnesota Governor). On Tuesday night, both gave major speeches after another by Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, who had also been in the mix as a possible VP pick.
Next up is the Democratic National Convention, all of which means that the media spotlight that’s usually on former president Donald Trump has largely shifted to the Democrats, at least for now. It’s hard to believe that the election is less than three months away, and under any circumstances, there will be changes in the White House and Congress. (WineAmerica does not engage in partisan politics, or make contributions to candidates, but does encourage everyone to vote for their preferred ticket.)
Whatever happens, WineAmerica is getting prepared to educate a new Administration and Congress about the economic importance of the wine industry. We have again commissioned John Dunham & Associations, a top economics research firm, to assess the economic impact of wine in 2025. In 2017 it was $220 billion, then up 25% to $276 billion in 2022—despite the onset of Covid during that period.
Like the past two studies, this one will include both national data, plus detailed data for all 50 states, in terms of number of wine producers, jobs, wages, tourism visits, tourism expenditures, taxes on all levels, and other metrics.
Wine is the ultimate value-added product, and a true economic engine. Produced in all 50 states, it’s also the all-American art form.
