This archive report was first published on 18 September 2019.
Published on September 18, 2019, a New York Times article highlighted the difficulties Elizabeth Warren may face in gaining the allegiance of white working-class voters in a matchup with Donald Trump.
Rockland, a predominantly white working-class community in Massachusetts, is one such area where Warren's policies are met with skepticism. A local resident, who voted for Trump in 2016 and plans to do so again in 2020, expressed his concerns about Warren's stance on gun rights and immigration.
However, Warren also has her supporters, including a 68-year-old welder and member of a plumbers union local from Weymouth, who praised her as a 'bulldog' for the working man.
Warren's visit to a small town in West Virginia to discuss the opioid crisis and her 'Plan for Economic Patriotism' have been seen as efforts to win over potentially unreceptive voters. The plan calls for actively managing the currency value of the dollar to promote exports and domestic manufacturing, and a tenfold increase in government spending on job apprenticeship programs.
While white working-class voters are a significant challenge for Warren, increasing turnout among African-American voters in 2020 could help counterbalance any weakness among this demographic.
