Event

The Working Class and Democracy in America

Oct 15, 2026 |
New York, NY
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Just weeks before the 2026 midterm elections, Vanderbilt University's Center for Global Democracy held this conversation about working-class Americans and their role in U.S. democracy. 

  • How are working-class Americans and their interests being represented in politics today? 
  • How have political parties and candidates responded to their demands? 
  • How might recent shifts in class politics shape the midterms and the road to 2028?

Leaders from academia, policy, and public life explored how class is reshaping American politics and what these changes mean for the future of U.S. democracy. Nick Carnes of Duke University, Oren Cass of American Compass, Emily Cherniack of New Politics, and Noam Lupu of Vanderbilt participated in a conversation moderated by Bill Adair, founder of PolitiFact.

This conversation drew on the related Academy report, How to Elect More Working-Class Americans and Why It Matters, and coincided with the release of Carnes and Lupu's new book, Keeping Workers Off the Ballot: How Democracy Undermines Working-Class Representation (Princeton University Press). 

Related

Project

Commission on Reimagining Our Economy

The Commission seeks to reimagine the nation’s political economy, rethink the values that drive economic policy making, and advance recommendations that help individuals, communities, and the nation flourish.

Chairs
Katherine J. Cramer, Ann M. Fudge, and Nicholas B. Lemann
Democracy & Justice
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