Graham Platner's departure from the Maine Senate race, following a rape accusation he denies, has sparked a debate about the role of political outsiders. But according to Bhaskar Sunkara, a Guardian US columnist, the lesson is not that amateurs should be excluded, but that more working-class candidates are needed, recruited through serious organizational efforts.
The Establishment's Narrative
Critics have used Platner's collapse to argue that outsiders lack the necessary vetting. Neera Tanden, president of the Center for American Progress, wrote, "Say what you will, but the establishment vets candidates." The Atlantic mocked the "beer test" that elevated Platner, noting that his movement prized "intensity of commitment" over policy mastery. However, Sunkara counters that the establishment's vetting has failed to prevent predators like Bill Clinton, Andrew Cuomo, and Eric Swalwell from holding office.
The Real Vetting Process
The most important vetting in electoral races screens for self-financing ability, alumni networks, donor connections, and non-threatening stances toward lobbyists. This filter explains why politics is dominated by lawyers and professionals, not working-class individuals. Fewer than 1 in 50 members of Congress held a working-class job before running. Only 2% of Democratic candidates worked exclusively in blue-collar jobs, a figure that rises to under 6% when including teachers and nurses.
Voters Want Working-Class Candidates
A study by the Center for Working Class Politics found that working-class voters prefer candidates with similar backgrounds, such as construction workers and teachers, and rank lawyers near the bottom, above only corporate executives. On average, working-class candidates get a five- to six-point boost from these voters. Platner tapped into this desire, connecting with voters by speaking like a normal person and criticizing the party's failures. Similarly, Dan Osborn, a trade unionist and industrial mechanic, outran Kamala Harris by 14 points in Nebraska in 2024 by appealing to working-class voters.
The Structural Barriers
The problem is not that voters reject outsiders, but that the political system makes it difficult for them to compete at high levels. Sunkara argues that we need more amateurs, recruited through class-rooted organizations. Historically, workers' parties were built on the idea that working-class people needed their own representatives. August Bebel, a carpenter, led Germany's Social Democrats for decades. Brazil's Workers' Party was led by a metalworker with little formal schooling. During the New Deal, the CIO union federation created the first political action committee to get workers into Congress.
Current Recruitment Efforts
Today, only a few groups, such as New Jersey's state AFL-CIO, Osborn's Working Class Heroes Fund, and local Democratic Socialists of America chapters, make serious efforts to recruit working-class candidates. Without such efforts, politics will remain staffed by the credentialed, who are less likely to govern in workers' interests.
Platner's personal failings are his own, but his fall should not be used to argue that people without law degrees should leave politics to the elites. The professionals running the Democratic Party have lost workers and the country's trust. We deserve a different kind of politics, and a different kind of politician.
