Trump’s Appeal to Working Class Voters
After the 2024 election, American voter demographics are changing in a big way. The forms that American politics takes could be roiling from the change in our form. So what’s happening? A school of thought has it that the shift in the identities of working-class voters is the main driver of the reconfigured political appeals of the two parties. In no particular order, what are these two political astrophysicists saying? First, that Donald Trump talks less of “truth” and more of “working-class virtue.” Second, that Mud-stained Joe Biden talks less of “power” and more of “working-class political agency.
This article contends that Trump’s targeted communication with working-class voters—especially young men and minority groups—has done more than just grow his electoral base; it implies a possible realignment of the Republican Party that could have enduring consequences for American politics.
Shifts in Voting Patterns Among Non-College Educated
This change in working-class political affinity can’t be overstated. Pew Research Center data from 2024 indicates that almost 60% of voters without a college degree have now embraced Trump. That is nearly a 20% increase in just four years. Ambiguous as it is, these appearances of Trump’s at events like the Ultimate Fighting Championship, for example, have raised the kind of visibility that has created a previously unfathomable level of support for Trump among young men. “That’s just a phenomenal number of young men who are now supporting Trump,” says Kall. From the party’s deadcat bounce belief in 2022 to this situation in 2024, the Democratic Party appears to have lost the working-class vote by a multiplicative margin. Whether this is “half the story” or not, it is certainly a story.
Engaging Young Male Voters
The Republican Party has traditionally depended on its base of white, working-class voters and has often overlooked the potential of minority groups to whom the party’s cultural values resonate. However, the 2024 election results point to something of a shift. Trump’s campaign retained the party’s core constituencies and gained sizable portions of Black and Hispanic voters; this was no small feat and speaks to a previously unconsidered potential for minority groups to serve as a GOP voting bloc. Or, as the Los Angeles Times put it, “Trump’s strategy … worked with almost uncanny precision.”
The messages that Trump sends have been very much in line with the cultural values of working-class Americans, most particularly young men. He has taken the Republican Party into new territory, creating a sense of partiality and representation at the kinds of events that really matter to these young men—most especially, lifestyle conventions like the kind the NFL puts on. Being partially represented at these up-front male occasions is a big deal if you’re a young man because it’s a very primal moment of politics. And who’s fronting for the Republicans in that arena now? Donald Trump.
Broadening the Republican Base
The younger voting demographic, especially young men, seems to be fracturing from the assumed liberal stronghold of this voting block. Donald Trump has taken a demographic that was a significant base of support for Joe Biden and has turned a good portion of those young men into allies for him in trying to get back into the White House. This week, the party that seems to be on the rise in this election cycle makes it clear with its path forward: The Republican Party is leaving behind a fracturing voter base of slighted white voters and is embracing a base that looks more like the electorate we have now.
Some may contend that Trump’s backing from minority groups is a passing trend, swayed more by current economic conditions than by any sort of ideological or policy-driven loyalty. They point to the fact that, just a decade ago, most of the same identity groups backed Democrats by wide margins. But the numbers don’t lie; under Trump, the GOP is doing better than ever with black, Latino, and Asian voters.
For the typical reader, the change in how different groups of people vote represents a crucial moment in American life. It brings to the fore the really delicate business of trying to comprehend who we are as voters and what makes us stick to one political side or the other. For the GOP, this was not just a moment in time; it has been a long stretch of losing ground. “Demographics is destiny,” the pundits say. But what comes next for the parts of our society that have shifted? And what must be said for the parts of our society that have stayed put?
A transformative moment in American politics is becoming evident in the 2024 election, where traditional party lines appear to be blurring and new alliances are forming. The electoral connect that Donald Trump seems to have with a working-class base, which now seems to include a more diverse set of individuals (in particular, younger men and racial minorities), seems to have the makings of a 2024 Republican Party with a somewhat different electoral flavor.
As we progress, a question remains: will the Republican Party accept this new identity, or will it fall back on its historical patterns? The outcome is important, and the answer could influence the rest of American democracy for quite a while.