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You are here: Home / Democrats / The Democrats Who Do Well with Working Class Voters

The Democrats Who Do Well with Working Class Voters

July 10, 2026 at 2:15 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Matthew Yglesias: “The truth is we know the names of the Democrats who do well with working-class voters. They’re Jared Golden and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez in the rural north. They’re Henry Cuellar and Vicente Gonzalez in South Texas. They’re Josh Shapiro and Gretchen Whitmer and Elissa Slotkin in the Rust Belt. They’re Ruben Gallego and Mark Kelly and Katie Hobbs in Arizona.”

“People knock these candidates as too boring, but the truth is that a network of political operatives and sympathetic media figures were incredibly successful at generating enthusiasm for Platner because they felt enthusiastic about the idea of Graham Platner. Which is fine. But if they chose to get excited by — and spread excitement about — people who are actually good at beating Republicans, then Democrats would have a lot less trouble making those candidates seem exciting.”

For members: Democrats Still Don’t Get Working-Class Voters

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About Political Wire

Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.

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