GOP: Democrats' working-class shtick divorced from reality

As Democrats try to rebuild support among working-class voters, they’re increasingly running candidates who bill themselves as blue-collar outsiders, and Republicans are increasingly accusing them of overselling the story.
From Montana to Maine, campaigns are scrutinizing rivals’ résumés, political connections, and family backgrounds to undermine claims of working-class authenticity. Republicans have already begun deploying that argument against Democratic candidates in some of the country’s most competitive races.
Sam Forstag’s triumph on Tuesday over former gubernatorial candidate Ryan Busse in the Democratic primary for Montana’s 1st District put a spotlight on the 32-year-old’s previous work as a lobbyist for the American Civil Liberties Union.
Forstag leans into his background as a smokejumper and union leader, and Democrats are bullish he can win against Trump-backed radio host Aaron Flint and flip the seat held by retiring Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-MT). Democrats have targeted the western Montana district with no success in the past two cycles.
Forstag’s work experience includes periods of lobbying Montana lawmakers for the state’s ACLU branch, but his stump speech centers mostly on his years as a labor organizer involved in unions and parachuting into remote areas for the U.S. Forest Service to fight wildfires, also known as a smokejumper.
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