Democrats Are Reclaiming Populism, And Obama-Trump Territory
WAVERLY, Iowa ― Democrats throughout the country are winning back a small but potentially critical number of voters in counties and cities that flipped to support President Donald Trump four years ago, thanks to a renewed outreach from Democrats and the loss of the populist edge the Republican Party developed in 2016.
These areas, where voters are disproportionately white, rural and older, and without college degrees, are mostly in the northern half of the country, especially in the Midwest. They have disproportionate power in the nation’s political system because of the overrepresentation of rural states in the Senate and the Electoral College.
“The blue wall has to be reestablished,” Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden told reporters in Pennsylvania on Monday, expressing optimism about winning the three traditionally Democratic-leaning states ― Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan ― that Trump narrowly won over Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016.
Few operatives in either party expect Democrats to win back these voters or the small counties and cities they live in entirely, but the party’s gains with them are playing a crucial role in creating a path to 270 electoral votes that looks increasingly solid for former Vice President Biden.
People are pissed. They’re angry. They think the entire system is corrupt. And they’re voting for Joe Biden. Matt Morrison, executive director of Working America
For many of these voters, the issues match the top reasons anyone in the electorate is backing Biden: They believe Trump has grossly mishandled the coronavirus pandemic that has killed more than 250,000 Americans and think Republicans are threatening key health care protections. But operatives in both parties also said they’ve been surprised at the ability of Biden, a career politician, to steal the mantle of populism from Trump.
“People are pissed,” said Matt Morrison, the executive director of Working America, the...
