Looking at recent elections its becoming clear that our understanding of normal voting patterns needs a re-think. The surprising win back in 2016 might not be the odd-one-out after all
Donald Trumpʼs appeal keeps growing among different voter groups which is quite eye-catching: his base now includes not just rural working-class voters but also some Black Latino and middle-class suburban folks (who used to vote mostly democratic)
The vote numbers are pretty clear — Trump went from about 63-mil votes to 74-mil in just 4 years which shows his message is hitting home with more people; even though he didnt win that time. Political writers Amie Parnes and Jonathan Allen wrote about this in their book pointing out how the covid-19 crisis made things different that year
- Economic worries of regular folks
- Feeling left out by big institutions
- Looking for real change in Washington
The democratic party needs to think hard about working-class voters needs — not by copying the other sides style but by making real plans that speak to peoples everyday money problems. If they dont figure this out soon the next few election cycles might look pretty similar to whats happening now
Right now its looking like the unusual election wasnt the one 8 years ago: it was the one during covid times when everything was different. The way things are going shows that old-school political thinking needs some serious updates