It's launch day for Party of the People

Here's what the multiracial populist realignment means for 2024 and beyond.

Today is the day! My book, Party of the People: Inside the Multiracial Populist Coalition Remaking the GOP hits bookstores. I was as surprised as anyone about the result of the 2016 election. So I spent the next few years listening and learning. This book is the result of that effort. 

The Republicans used to be seen as the party of wealthy elites and the Democrats the party of blue collar workers—and now that’s being turned upside down. Because of this, the “demography is destiny” ideas of eternal Democratic majorities never materialized. And now it’s Republicans who are on offense with voting blocs who represent a decisive majority of the country. 

Party of the People is also a hopeful story about the country, not just the two parties. Contrary to the media myths, the old divisions that separated Americans politically and in other ways by race and ethnicity are gradually fading. This is what’s making Republicans competitive in areas they never dreamed of winning before. 

There is a temptation to talk about these trends solely in terms of Donald Trump. But as I demonstrate in the book, they’ve been unfolding for more than 50 years, from Richard Nixon’s “Silent Majority,” through Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush’s surges in blue-collar and rural counties, to Republicans now being on the precipice of realigning a substantial share of the nonwhite working class. 

The early 2024 polling—especially the New York Times polls this weekend—show that 2016 and 2020 were no one off. Barack Obama’s rainbow coalition—forged fifteen years ago this week—is severely weakened. Joe Biden and Democrats are struggling mightily to hold their old coalition of liberal whites and moderate nonwhites together. This is no coincidence, but the result of 

Regardless of who has the advantage in 2024 or any other election, how we should think about the parties and who they stand for has permanently changed. There will be no going back to the parties we had before. And that’s a wake-up call for the establishment in both the Republican and Democratic parties. It’s also an opportunity for both parties—to win a multiracial mainstream middle class majority that’s more economically populist than most Republican politicians today and more socially moderate and un-woke than the current Democratic party. 

Your support for this book launch would mean a great deal and here’s how you can help: 

1. First, buy the book! You can get it anywhere, including on Amazon, Audible, and Barnes and Noble. 

2. Share it on social media. You can start with engaging with my launch day posts on Twitter/X or Threads, which unpack the book’s argument further, and on Instagram, with the hashtag #PartyofthePeople. And I’d particularly appreciate you sharing any real-time impressions you have as you read the book. 

3. Consider a review. If you've had the chance to read, a review on platforms like Amazon or Goodreads would be invaluable for the book’s reach and success. 

I am grateful for all the encouragement I’ve received while writing this book and I’m excited to finally share it with everyone. No matter what your political persuasion, I’m hoping this can be a lasting contribution to better understanding the realignment unfolding before our eyes.