Populism exacts its revenge
The election on Tuesday will be decided based on the combined effects of innumerable factors. One factor in particular, however, is extremely important for Democrats and Republicans alike: the voting patterns of the working class, especially working class whites. Over 60 percent of workers without a bachelor’s degree are white. This group made up approximately 44 percent of the electorate in 2012. Their voting power cannot be overlooked this election.
Working class whites cannot fairly be lumped into one political camp. Their views and backgrounds are highly diverse. However, members of this group do exhibit certain trends in their political leanings. It has become evident during this election cycle that more working class whites have considered Donald Trump’s promise to make America great again than have believed Hillary Clinton’s slogan of being stronger together. This is likely due to a problem that even Hillary Clinton acknowledged in an interview with The New Yorker: “We are the party of working people, but we haven’t done a good enough job… we haven’t had a coherent, compelling economic case.” The white working class has fallen prey in recent years to ills like poverty and debt, unsustainably large families, drug addiction and general malaise. Many face declining job prospects as employers either leave their home regions or the country altogether. They largely feel forgotten in a political climate that, it seems to many of them, is focused on problems that do not relate to their concerns. Polls show that working class whites are some of the most pessimistic and alienated people in the United States.
And here is the kicker: The white working class largely blames the federal government for these woes. Approximately 62 percent of working class whites believe that the federal government deserves all or most of the blame for their economic troubles. Sixty-six percent of the white working class believe that the federal government doesn’t do enough to help people like them. A career politician like Hillary Clinton is simply not as attractive to them as she once might have been. This is where Donald Trump’s cavalier approach to politics comes into play.
It should come as no surprise that Trump is more appealing to working class whites and that Clinton is more appealing to college-educated whites. Trump’s successes in the Republican primaries were driven in large part by his popularity among working class whites, a popularity that his myriad opponents seemingly could not compete with. About 50 percent of Republican working class whites favored Trump in the primaries. That number has only expanded since Trump won the Republican nomination, and even a substantial number of working class white Democrats have been enticed by Trump. Twenty-two percent of working class white Democrats claim that they would consider voting for Trump. Donald Trump’s presidency is unique in Washington politics for many reasons, but he has managed to do what few other political candidates have successfully done in recent years: tune into the plight of a substantial group of voters that other politicians have overlooked.
Despite making up a decreasing percentage of the national electorate, the white working class will continue to be a considerable asset for whoever is able to garner their trust. In this election, it was Trump. In future elections, we should all hope that it is someone with competency and tact.