Three candidates with working-class experience win US elections — TIME

In the US midterm elections, three of the seven Democratic and Republican candidates who listed a working-class occupation as their last non-elected job won. Another candidate was leading during the final vote count. The only such Senate candidate, logger Troy Jackson, defeated incumbent Republican Senator Susan Collins in Maine.

Seven candidates with working-class experience

As TIME reports, 933 candidates from the two major parties took part in the general congressional elections. Only seven of them listed a working-class occupation on their campaign websites as their last job outside elected office.

This group included delivery driver Tim Rogers, metalworker Brian Poindexter, smokejumper Sam Forstag, machinist Ray Poole, electrician Christopher Reichard, waitress Rebecca Cooke, and logger Troy Jackson.

All six House of Representatives candidates ran in districts where their parties lost in 2024. Brian Poindexter in Ohio and Rebecca Cooke in Wisconsin were declared winners. Sam Forstag in Montana was leading while final results were being tallied. According to the article’s authors, Democratic candidates with working-class experience performed about 9.3 percentage points better than Democrats in those districts in 2024.

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Barriers to running for office

The article’s authors note that people in working-class occupations rarely run for office, although research generally does not indicate that voters view them less favorably than other candidates. They link this to the personal costs of campaigning: the need to take leave or quit a job, the loss of control over everyday life, and risks to one’s reputation and future career.

According to the data cited in the article, working-class occupations account for more than half of the US workforce, but the share of members of Congress whose last job was such an occupation has historically not exceeded 3%. In the average state legislature, this figure was below 2% as of 2024.

Support for candidates

TIME provides examples of programs that help bring such candidates into elections. They include the New Jersey AFL-CIO Labor Candidates School, which recruits, trains and supports candidates and says it has a 75% win rate. The authors also mention partnerships between political parties and trade unions and other organizations that support workers.