More Working-Class Candidates
News and Views from the Center for Working-Class Politics: April 3, 2026
We have a short one for your Easter weekend.
A flight attendant runs for Congress. A union president takes aim at the billionaires. Working-class voters are (still) drifting away from Trump. And how to spot the (1980s) upper class.
Plus, a panel with union leaders on recruiting worker candidates.
Below you’ll find a range of news and views that concern working-class politics. Many are written by research associates and friends of the Center for Working-Class Politics.
Running for Congress at 30,000 Feet: A Flight Attendant’s Campaign Trail
The New York Times profiled flight attendant, union leader, and Minnesota State Representative Kaela Berg on her run for Congress:
She is part of a new crop of working-class candidates with atypical backgrounds who Democrats hope can help the party win back blue-collar voters, a key constituency that has been slipping away from them for more than a decade.
“If you look at Congress, there are people there that are independently wealthy,” said Ms. Berg, 52, who earns about $45 an hour as flight attendant. “Some of them are multimillionaires. They’ve been there forever. They haven’t had to worry about a paycheck in decades. But they’re making decisions about people and their lives without a clear understanding of it.”
Berg, who does not have a college education, is facing pair of Brahmin opponents in the primary, including a doctor (Matt Klein) and a lawyer (Matt Little). Both have out-raised her about 5-1. Needless to say, she’s got her work cut out for her, but she’s the kind of candidate we’d like to see more of, and her working-class appeal could give her an edge over her opponents’ fundraising advantages.
The union man who unleashed a political earthquake in California
There is a wealth tax proposal on the ballot in California. Behind that proposal is a coalition led by SEIU-UHW and it’s president Dave Regan.
Politico profiled Regan. Buried in the tabloid-ish coverage, the crux of the issue:
While unions like the Teamsters and AFSCME have endorsed his wealth tax proposition, other labor officials fear it could undercut a separate tax initiative that would lock in $5 billion to $15 billion annually, much of it for schools, and imperil future efforts to raise taxes after setting off a political counteroffensive from deep-pocketed foes. Almost all of the wealth tax’s proceeds would flow to health care services, with 10 percent going to education and food assistance.
“‘What are we going to do about it?’ is the only question,” Regan said. “And we respectfully disagree with people who say we should do nothing, because if we do nothing, hospitals close, clinics close, people lose coverage, people die.”
Much of the opposition to a wealth tax comes from the (no doubt genuine) fear of capital flight—the billionaire Google co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page have already moved their assets out of the Golden State in retaliation. But, as Regan points out, the ability of the superrich to inspire that kind of fear, and evade democratic authority, is exactly why we need a wealth tax in the first place.
The Meaning of Trump’s Working-Class ‘Buyer’s Remorse’
Stanley Greenberg, at the American Prospect, gives his analysis of new polling done by CWCP Director Jared Abbott and Joan Williams. Greenberg agrees that Trump is in real trouble, but stresses that Democrats still have their work cut out for them, not just on economics, but building trust with voters around cultural issues where many voters feel they are out of touch:
They wanted safer communities and for their children to have the opportunity for a good education. They wanted working people, not just the big shots, to be in charge in politics.
This understanding of working-class discontent will explain why just a fraction of these defectors are now voting Democratic. The image of the Democratic Party is worse than the Republican Party, worse than Trump, and even worse than ICE. It badly trails Republicans by double digits on handling crime and immigration.
Donald Trump’s Approval Rating Collapses With Working-Class Voters
And Newsweek reports on yet more evidence of a slide in Trump’s support from working-class lower-income voters:
A second CNN/SSRS poll conducted from March 26 to March 30, 2026, found Trump’s approval rating among Americans earning under $50,000 had fallen to 29 percent, while disapproval had risen to 70 percent. That resulted in a net approval rating of minus 41 points.
The March poll surveyed a random national sample of 1,201 adults. Results for the full sample had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.
Taken together, the two surveys show a 19-point net approval swing in the wrong direction among lower-income voters over roughly 10 weeks.
1986: How to Spot the Upper Class
Join the Center for Working-Class Politics, the Center for Work and Democracy at ASU and The Nation magazine for a panel featuring veterans of successful union candidate programs who will share their insights and experiences on building a pipeline for working-class candidates and why doing so is more important than ever.
The event is free to attend but we ask that you register using the link below.
It's great that working class people are running for congress and the senate. Where the rubber meets the road is in legislation. Will working class people elected to office vote to increase wages and benefits for working class people?
President Biden came from a working class background, and he brought in many millions of workers to compete for jobs and drive down wages.
So far I haven't heard of a plan to end illegal employment. Does the Democratic Party support American workers? Does the Center for American Progress?
What good will taxing billionaires actually do? Will it increase my income?
What I'd like to see is a way to fine or tax employers of illegal labor, and a huge boost to minimum wages. $30 an hour, not in five years, the same year people are sworn into office. Take adicts and crazy people and put them in residential facilities, they shouldn't be shooting up and defecating on the street. There is lots to worry about, billionaires are way down my list, and working class candidates have to have a plan.