Keep your eyes on Democrat Kristen McDonald Rivet.

Kristen’s economic populist message won an open, swing seat in Michigan against millions of dollars in Republican attacks.

In a big New York Times interview, she's sharing how she did it so more Dems can learn from her example.

Do you believe that we should thank and encourage Democratic leaders like Kristen McDonald Rivet who authentically connect with working class voters and show other Dems how to win?

Yes

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NEW YORK TIMES: What is the biggest lesson the national party should take from your victory?

KRISTEN MCDONALD RIVET: We focused continuously — almost exclusively — on pocketbook issues, on getting more money in people’s pockets…Any campaign that’s not talking about that, and concrete ideas to address that, will not be able to win a district like mine…I don’t talk about "inflation." I talk about the price of eggs.

NEW YORK TIMES: What’s the single most important thing Democrats can do to win back the voters who supported you but not the top of the ticket?

KRISTEN MCDONALD RIVET: We have to base our campaigns in economic reality. The system feels stacked against so many people. And when we take those messages and we want to talk about a sort of esoteric policy ideology, you lose people. We actually need to help people earn more money and keep more of their money, especially working-class people who are making less than 60 grand a year.

NEW YORK TIMES: There’s an interesting contrast in how you talked about cost of living and how the Biden administration often talked about it.

KRISTEN MCDONALD RIVET: When we talk about the economy and the data points that are typically associated with measuring the economy, and the jobs report and all of those things — great, beautiful and nice leading indicators, all of that — that doesn’t mean anything to people who don’t have money in the market and aren’t watching at that level. What really matters to them is how much it costs at the grocery store and the gas pump. While we were trying to say: ‘Look, we have a softer landing. We are doing better than anyone else post-pandemic,’ it lands on families in my district as tone-deaf when they can’t afford to eat meat more than once a week.

Well said, Kristen!

If you believe that we should thank and encourage Democratic leaders like Kristen McDonald Rivet who authentically connect with working class voters when they show other Dems how to win, please chip in here.

Thanks for being a bold progressive.

-- The PCCC Team (Follow us on BlueSky: @BoldProgressives.bsky.social)

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