Working-class candidates lose because they can't raise money, not because people don't want to vote for them.
Data from 8,775 US congressional candidates shows that nominating a working-class person results in a negligible 0.6% drop in vote share, far too small to change most election outcomes. The lack of representation is driven by pre-election barriers like fundraising and lack of elite credentials rather than a lack of 'electability' among the general public.
What Happens When Working-Class Candidates Run for Office?
SSRN · 6347478
Working-class Americans are significantly underrepresented in politics. It is unclear whether this is due to electoral disadvantages or pre-election barriers to entry. To address this question, we collect the full occupational histories from campaign websites for all 8,775 candidates who finished first or second in congressional primaries between 2010 and 2024. Using a difference-indifferences design, we find that when a party nominates a working-class candidate to the general election, it sees