Swing Voters Want Kitchen-Table Populism, Not a Sermon
A new survey of 6,100 voters finds that persuadable voters respond to plain talk about rent, groceries, and corruption — and tune out when Democrats lecture them about who’s dividing them.
Persuadable voters don’t want the theory of how elites keep them down. They want to know what politicians will do about the cost of groceries. (Joe Raedle / Getty Images)
“Affordability” has now been embraced even by politicians who haven’t pushed a shopping cart since the Clinton administration. A record 89 percent of Americans say government corruption is widespread. And even mainstream liberal media is declaring that populism is dominating politics right now — so much so that Politico has an entire section devoted to the topic.
But when it comes to winning swing voters, it’s not enough to speak like an elite-hating, anti-corruption populist whose number one priority is household costs. A key new study concludes that if you want to reach past your base, it will also behoove you to speak in concrete terms, to avoid sermonizing, and to steer clear of words you wouldn’t use in polite company.
Kicking the Tires
Based on a survey of 6,100 respondents, the study by the Rural Urban Bridge Initiative (RUBI) and the Center for Working-Class Politics (CWCP) entitled “Kitchen Table Messaging for the Populist Era” kicks the tires on the populism-aspiring, affordability-fueled, corruption-attuned vehicle the Democratic Party is driving into the November midterms.
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