Politics
Working-class voters think Dems are “woke” and “weak,” new research finds
Working-class voters see Democrats as “woke, weak and out-of-touch” and six in 10 have a negative view of the party, concluded a frank internal assessment of the hole the party finds itself in.
The nine-month, 21-state research project is the latest in a wave of post-mortems and data dives aimed at solving the Democratic Party’s electoral challenges after their sweeping losses in 2024. It was funded by Democracy Matters, a nonprofit aligned with flagship Democratic super PAC American Bridge 21st Century, and backed by months of polling, dozens of focus groups and message testing.
American Bridge’s project focused exclusively on working-class voters, shedding light on a once-core constituency for Democrats that’s drifted away from the party over the last decade. And the initial feedback is grim: Working-class voters don’t see Democrats as strong or patriotic, while Republicans represent safety and strength for them. These voters “can’t name what Democrats stand for, other than being against [Donald] Trump,” according to the report.
The Democratic brand “is suffering,” as working-class voters see the party as “too focused on social issues and not nearly focused enough on the economic issues that impact every one, every day,” the report said.
“We lost people we used to get [in 2024], so why did we lose them? Why don’t we go ask them,” said Mitch Landrieu, co-chair of Democracy Matters and senior adviser to then-President Joe Biden. “They said what they thought about us and it was painful to hear … They feel forgotten, left out, and that their issues are not prioritized by the Democratic Party or the Republican Party.”
He added, “they want somebody focused first, second and third, on their economic stress.”
Landrieu and other aides will brief congressional members on the findings in the coming weeks. They’re also airing one of the ads they tested as a part of the project in Virginia, boosting Abigail Spanberger, the Democratic nominee for governor. The ad, backed by a six-figure buy, features a 70-year-old woman who said she still works and lives paycheck to paycheck.
Other center-left groups’ post-mortems drew similar conclusions about the depths of the problem Democrats face in repairing their brand, as well as urging their party to side-step social issues and prioritize economic concerns. But even as the report calls for a proactive policy agenda, it’s not clear what that detailed policy agenda might be.
The project was conducted by Impact Research, GBAO and HIT Strategies over a 9 month period, surveying 3,000 working-class voters from across the political spectrum. It also included 39 focus groups with 400 working-class voters and other research.
The report argues Democrats still have a path to regain the support of blue-collar voters they have been losing to Republicans, from resetting their perceived priorities to leaning into issues that voters trust them on, including health care and housing. They point to Trump’s failure to bring down costs since resuming office this year as proof that “this group is very much up for grabs,” said Margie Omero, a Democratic pollster who worked on the project.
“They are not convinced that what they are getting from Republicans is alleviating the stress they’re experiencing and Democrats can win them over,” said Molly Murphy, another Democratic pollster who also worked on the project.
But warning signs remain for Democrats heading into next year’s midterms.
Working-class voters “don’t fully recognize the extent of the harm Trump’s budget bill is causing,” the report said. Instead, they are “incredulous as to why Republicans would seemingly make a bad system worse.” The report acknowledged that “Republicans start off on stronger ground on these issues, but Democrats can reclaim them when they vividly illustrate how their plans differ from Republicans’, particularly on health care.”
Trump’s job approval rating among the surveyed working-class voters, who backed him by 7 points in 2024, is even. Still, these same voters only gave Republicans a 2-point edge heading into 2026, per the data from Democracy Matters.
Democrats’ must focus on affordability, the report emphasized, though its messaging suggestions clash with the strategy of progressives, differing on who to blame for economic strain. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) drew enormous crowds when they barnstormed the country this spring on their “Fighting Oligarchy” tour, attacking billionaires and “the 1 percent.”
But in the report, their surveys found “a candidate focused on taking on big corporations and the wealthy” received 43 percent, while a “candidate focused on fixing the economy so those who work hard can get ahead” earned 52 percent.
“Not one person in all of our focus groups mentioned the word ‘oligarchy,’” Landrieu said.
These respondents aspire to wealth, Landrieu added, but “absolutely felt like wealthy people who were using the tax system to not pay their fair share was a very serious problem.”
Murphy said their data prompted them to “come out of this wanting to use a little bit of caution” when talking about the economy. “Not to be prescriptive in saying, ‘don’t say take on billionaires’ or use populist messaging,” she added, “but [working-class voters] need to know Democrats respect people who build wealth, and we’re not looking to punish them.” .
The report identified two areas of particular weakness for Democrats: transgender rights and immigration. Both topics dominated Republican messaging in 2024, particularly Trump’s ad that included the tagline, “Kamala is for they/them, President Trump is for you.”
The research argued the “strongest Dem messages on trans issues focus on keeping the government out of medical professionals’ decisions, followed by prioritizing the economy” and it urged candidates: “Don’t say Republicans need to stop attacking LGBT people. Instead, say everyone — Republicans and Democrats — need to stop obsessing over this issue.”
But it also found one-third of independents would be “much more likely” to support Democrats if they said “transgender women should not play in women’s sports,” the second highest testing message in swaying these voters.
Democrats have split on how to talk about transgender issues. Some, like California Gov. Gavin Newsom, broke with his party to criticize allowing transgender athletes to participate in female college and youth sports, calling it “an issue of fairness” on his podcast last March. In contrast, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker blasted “do-nothing” Democrats in a speech last spring for “blam[ing] our losses on our defense of Black people, of trans kids, of immigrants — instead of their own lack of guts and gumption.”
The report included a detailed media consumption study, finding that working-class voters are “consuming less news and using YouTube and playing video games more than the overall electorate.” They rely on YouTube, TikTok and Facebook for news, and they’re more likely to use TikTok specifically for news than the overall electorate.
They also are constantly tuned into audio throughout the day, be it radio, streaming or podcasts.
“We heard time and again in the groups that these are not low-info voters and they’re not traditional news readers, but they’re getting inundated with information,” said Ryan Berni, a Democratic consultant who advised on the project. “It’s almost a slur to call them low-info voters. They’re getting a lot, but not from Democrat-aligned sources.”
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The Alaska Supreme Court ruled Monday that a man with the same nameand party affiliation as Alaska Republican U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan is qualified to run for the seat and ordered elections officials to place him on the August primary ballot.
The ruling came hours after the court heard arguments and just days after state court Judge Thomas Matthews found the Division of Elections had “abused its discretion”in booting the challenger Sullivan from the ballot. The Supreme Court, in a brief ruling, affirmed Matthews’ decision to include the challenger on the ballot but sent back to the division the issue of how he should be listed as a candidate “within the confines of existing Alaska ballot design law.”
The court said a full opinion explaining its decision would be released later.
Jeffrey Robinson, an attorney for the challenger Sullivan, expressed gratitude for the ruling and said he expected the division “will act in full compliance” with ballot design law in preparing the ballots. Sam Curtis, a spokesperson for the state Department of Law, said the state appreciated the quick ruling “and will work to implement the order.”
Nate Adams, a spokesperson for Sen. Sullivan’s campaign, said while disappointed by the ruling, the campaign is encouraged that Beecher “will be able to use her expertise to differentiate between the Petersburg fraud and the incumbent — Senator Dan Sullivan — to the benefit of Alaska voters.”
Division of Elections Director Carol Beecher issued a decision June 15 finding the challenger’s candidacy was not filed in good faith and instead was done with an intent to confuse voters. But Matthews said Beecher’s decision was not based on the requirements set out by the U.S. Constitution to serve in the Senate — which address age, citizenship and residency — or on state laws or regulations.
Alaska’s US Senate race could help determine control of chamber
The dust-up over the two Dan Sullivans began with the challenger filing his candidacy about a month ago and has roiled one of the most closely watched Senate races in the country. Alaska’s race is one of about a half dozen Senate contests that are considered competitive and could determine control of the chamber for President Donald Trump’s final two years in office.
The candidate filing prompted accusations by the senator and his alliesincluding the National Republican Senatorial Committee, that the challenger is a sham candidate intent on sowing chaos. Republican Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom, who oversees elections, responded by announcing an investigation into the challenger’s candidacy.
Two complaints raising questions about his party affiliation and motives were filed by the Alaska Republican Party chair.
The senator also accused the challenger Sullivan of working with Democrats and the campaign of Democratic former U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola to cause confusion. Peltola’s campaign and state Democrats have denied the allegation, as has the challenger, who said the decision to run was “my choice.”
Peltola is seen as the senator’s main rival in the race, which features more than a dozen candidates.
The top four vote-getters in the primary, regardless of party affiliation, advance to a ranked choice general election in November.
The challenger Sullivan, 69, a retired teacher from the small fishing community of Petersburg, told The Associated Press on Monday he had grown frustrated with the incumbent and thought the timing for a run was right. “I just decided it was something I needed to do,” he said. “I will find out if it was the right thing or not, but I’m going to give it a shot.”
He said he aims to pull votes from the senator, as any challenger would. “But no, I’m not trying to trick people,” he told the AP.
Arguments before the state Supreme Court
Attorneys for the challenger Sullivanin filings before the state Supreme Court, said the elections division disqualified their client “because of what it thought were his reasons for running.” They called the good-faith standard applied by Beecher “legally unsupportable.”
Matthews agreed in his decision Friday to allow Sullivan on the ballot, saying, the elections division determination “was based upon a new, previously unstated, ‘good-faith’ criteria.”
Beecher, in disqualifying the challenger Sullivan, said he had registered to vote as Daniel J. Sullivan Jr. and in conjunction with his candidacy changed his party affiliation to Republican, an affiliation he did not previously had. She cited similarities between his campaign website and the senator’s, and his work with a consultant whose clients have included some Democrats. She did not mention finding any evidence of coordination.
Attorneys general from 14 Republican-led states submitted a brief supporting the division and asking the state Supreme Court to keep the challenger Sullivan off the ballot.
The division initially certified both Sullivans as candidates, identifying the challenger as Dan J. Sullivan and the incumbent as Dan S. Sullivan.
Debate over ballot design
Attorneys representing the state, in their filings, said using a middle initial on the ballot would not be enough to help voters distinguish between the two Sullivans. They asked the court to uphold Beecher’s finding.
But if the court ordered the challenger Sullivan on the ballot, they proposed he be listed as Daniel James Sullivan Jr. with a nonpartisan party affiliation — arguing the division believed it could deny him being labeled a Republican since he had no prior affiliation with that party before running. The attorneys, led by outside counsel Christopher Murray, proposed in their brief that the senator be listed as Dan Sullivan, registered Republican and incumbent.
Attorneys for the challenger said any proposal to list their client as “nonpartisan” would be unlawful because Alaska law allows him to be listed according to his party preference. It proposed he be listed on the ballot as Dan J. Sullivan, a Republican.
They said the senator could ensure his supporters are aware of his middle initial and that the state’s candidate information pamphlet, which is sent to voters, also could help address any confusion.
At least one outside group supporting the senator has been running ads and sending political mailers referring to him as Sen. Dan S. Sullivan.
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