Left-Populist Strategies in Trump Country

• In Event: Interpretive Approaches to Poverty, Participation, and Populism

Abstract

This project explores how left-leaning political actors organize electoral campaigns and social movement organizations in the Trump Era. Using a mixed method approach, I examine the work of a left-populist Congressional campaign and a closely related social movement organization in rural Pennsylvania. Tellingly, the discursive strategy used by political entrepreneurs in the campaign hinged on a left-populist message of economic and political inequality crafted to equally appeal to Trump voters as well as leftists. This discourse included strong critiques of both parties, the indictment of wealthy elites and insiders as the cause of social problems, and a call to rely on community values and insights as the solution. As such, the campaign stands as an example of inclusive left-populism. While the candidate ultimately lost the 2018 general election, they had a good deal of success in winning over Republicans and Trump voters. The movement infrastructure that was built for the election has continued after the loss to draw members into the fold and lay the groundwork for, as one volunteer put it, “long term grassroots power in our community.”

I use a mixed method approach grounded in interpretive ethnography to examine the discourse, practice, and impact of both the congressional campaign and the ongoing work of the social movement organization. Quantitative analysis is used at the precinct level to provide a macro assessment of campaign strategy and voter behavior, tracking the work of the campaign to reach out to citizens and the eventual electoral outcomes. Discourse analysis is applied to campaign speeches, volunteer strategies, and printed material. Immersive fieldwork conducted over the length of the electoral campaign provides the heart of the research, where I examine the deployment of campaign strategies and discourses as well as the formation of political identities by actors associated with the campaign - a process that is highly dynamic and contingent over the course of the fieldwork. Finally, interviews conducted during and after the electoral campaign are used to gain additional leverage in the meaning making of political actors in this context.

The findings from this research will be used to comment on a number of topics, including the discourse and practice of populism, the efficacy of inequality discourses for organizers, the formation of political identities among citizens, and the role of social movement organizations in electoral campaigns.

Author

• Biko Koenig, Franklin & Marshall College