A new national poll found that 55% of Americans believe politicians who promise to help the working class are mainly trying to win votes, while only one-quarter of self-identified working-class adults say political leaders genuinely want to improve their lives.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
A majority of Americans are skeptical that politicians who campaign on helping working-class families are motivated by anything beyond winning elections, according to a new national poll released Monday.
The Politico poll found that 55% of respondents believe politicians who pledge to support the working class are primarily trying to secure votes.
That distrust was not confined to one party or political faction.
Majorities of voters who supported President Donald Trump, voters who backed former Vice President Kamala Harris and Americans who personally identify as working class all expressed skepticism about the motives of politicians who claim to champion working families.
Among self-described working-class Americans, only 25% said they believe politicians genuinely want to help them.
The findings come as both Republicans and Democrats increasingly compete for voters who identify with the working class, a group that has become central to national election strategies and party debates over economic and cultural issues.
Neither party holds an overwhelming advantage with those voters.
Among Americans who identify as working class, 38% said Democrats best represent their interests, compared with 32% who chose Republicans.
The gap was similar among the broader population. Thirty-seven percent of all respondents said Democrats best represent working-class interests, while 30% selected Republicans.
Those numbers leave both parties with substantial room to gain — or lose — support as voters continue evaluating their economic circumstances and whether elected officials are addressing their concerns.
For Democrats, the findings arrive after years of erosion among portions of a constituency that once formed a major part of the party’s electoral coalition.
Trump made significant gains among working-class voters during his successful 2024 reelection campaign, increasing pressure on Democrats to determine how they can rebuild support among those voters.
That question has fueled an ongoing argument within the Democratic Party over whether centrist candidates or more liberal economic policies offer the better path.
Jim Kessler, executive vice president for policy at the centrist Democratic think tank Third Way, acknowledged that the party’s difficulties with working-class voters predate the current election cycle.
“We’ve struggled with the working class for quite a while,” Kessler said.
He argued that Democrats have lost ground both because of cultural disagreements and because some voters do not see the party as sufficiently centered on everyday economic concerns.
Kessler said Democrats have been hurt by being “out of touch with working class values on a lot of culture issues” while also being perceived as inadequately focused on the economy.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., offered a sharply different explanation.
Sanders argued that the party’s liberal wing is addressing core economic issues facing working families and that those concerns extend beyond traditional Democratic voters.
“It is not just traditional Democrats or independents,” Sanders said. “There are a lot of working-class Republicans who understand that there’s something wrong when we are the only major nation on Earth not to guarantee healthcare to all people.”
Republicans face a different political problem: maintaining the working-class support that helped Trump return to the White House while voters confront persistent concerns about household expenses.
Former Republican Rep. Jim Renacci of Ohio said rising costs are contributing to dissatisfaction among voters who had expected stronger economic relief.
“With the [Iran] war, with gas prices, with cost of food, the working class is not happy with the president,” Renacci said, adding that some Republican and independent voters believe Trump has “forgotten about them.”
The poll showed economic dissatisfaction could create particular difficulties for Republicans.
Thirty-five percent of self-identified working-class respondents — the largest single group — said Trump, rather than former President Joe Biden, bears full responsibility for the current condition of the economy.
The results also showed frustration over the administration’s attention to foreign policy.
Half of working-class respondents said Trump has devoted too much time to international affairs rather than domestic issues.
The war with Iran has become part of that concern.
Most respondents said the conflict has increased their own expenses, linking overseas events directly to the cost-of-living pressures already affecting household budgets.
Those economic concerns could prove important as both parties attempt to persuade working-class voters that they are focused on issues affecting wages, food costs, energy prices, health care and financial security.
The broader challenge, however, extends beyond individual policies.
The survey suggests many voters question whether politicians’ appeals to working-class concerns are sincere at all.
That skepticism spans supporters of both major parties and leaves neither Republicans nor Democrats with a decisive advantage among the voters they are competing to win.
The poll was conducted online by Public First from Aug. 8 through Aug. 12 among 2,004 U.S. adults.
The overall margin of error was plus or minus 2.2 percentage points.
Original article
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