A group of Democrat House candidates with union backgrounds has launched a joint fundraising effort aimed at strengthening their campaigns while promoting a working-class message ahead of the midterm elections.
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The coalition, dubbed the “Blue Collar Brigade,” includes five Democrat candidates who say they hope to appeal to blue collar voters and to overcome fundraising disadvantages against Republican opponents.
The group includes a firefighter union leader, an educator and teachers union member, an ironworker and former union organizer, a union leader and former smokejumper, and a flight attendant and former local union president.
The candidates said they formed the coalition to combine fundraising efforts as they compete in what is expected to be an expensive election cycle.
The candidates plan to split proceeds from a virtual fundraiser co-hosted by current and former leaders of several labor organizations, including the Communications Workers of America, the Association of Flight Attendants, the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, the Iron Workers and the AFL-CIO.
The fundraising effort comes as Democrats seek to improve their standing with working-class voters after recent election setbacks.
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Some members of the coalition have already secured support from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, while others advanced despite opposition from national Democrat organizations during their primaries.
All five candidates have emerged from costly primary contests or are preparing for competitive races that have strained campaign finances.
Minnesota state Rep. Kaela Berg, a flight attendant and former leader of her local union, said the candidates believe their working-class backgrounds will resonate with voters seeking alternatives to establishment politicians.
“Working-class candidates have such momentum right now in this economy and [at] this moment in our nation’s history,” Berg said. “Voters are looking now more than ever for candidates that have lived their struggles, who they can identify with, because we look more like them than the folks that are deeply connected or that are part of the establishment.”
