Party of the People: Inside the Multiracial Populist Coalition Remaking the GOP

by Patrick Ruffini

An eye-opening, revelatory account of the future of the Republican party as they unite working-class voters in a multi-racial, cross-generational populist coalition.

Donald Trump’s victory in the 2016 presidential election shocked the world. Yet his defeat in 2020 may have been even more he received 12 million more votes in 2020 than 2016 and his unexpectedly diverse coalition included millions of nonwhite voters, a rarity for the modern Republican party.

In 2020, Trump defied expectations and few journalists, strategists, or politicians could explain why Trump had nearly won reelection. Patrick Ruffini, a Republican pollster and one of the country’s leading experts on political targeting, technology, and demography, has the answers—and the explanation may surprise you. For all his apparent divisiveness, Trump assembled the most diverse Republican presidential coalition in history and rode political trends that will prove significant for decades to come.

The shift is seven in ten American voters belong to groups that have shifted right in the last two presidential elections, while under three in ten whites with a college degree belong to groups that are trending left. Together, this super-majority of right-trending voters forms a colorblind, populist coalition, largely united by its working-class roots, moderate to conservative views on policy, strong religious beliefs, and indifference to or outright rejection of the identity politics practiced by the left. Not all these voters are Republican, and in certain corners of the coalition, only a small minority are. But recent elections are pointing us towards a future where party allegiances have been utterly upended.

The Party of the People demonstrates this data. Ruffini was as wrong as every pollster in 2016 and spent the intervening years figuring out why and developing better methods of analyzing voters in the digital age. Using robust data, he shifts you away from the complacent, widespread narrative that the Republican party is a party of white, rural voters. It is, but more importantly for its longevity, it’s a party of non-college educated voters. And as fewer voters attend college, the Republican party shows no signs of stagnation. With rich data and clear analysis, Party of the People explains the present and future of the Republican party and American elections.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, American History, Audiobook, Cultural

336 pages, Hardcover

First published November 7, 2023

Reviews

[Alex MacMillan · Rating 2 out of 5]

A flawed book that raises more questions than it answers. The question being raised is the paradox of how the GOP can embrace white nationalism (and which attempted a violent coup based upon the conspiracy that nonwhite voters committed “fraud”) and also make gains with nonwhite voters in 2020 and 2022. The author is right to point out the opportunity for a future post-racial politics. But he is not up to the task of explaining the paradox at the heart of his reactionary political project.

The author has a pesky habit of making his boldest claims without citing to any evidence whatsoever. I would check the endnotes to see what he was basing an assertion on, and find just nothing. There are long stretches of the book without any citations. For example, on page 259, he says "There is abundant evidence now that reductions in policing since 2020 have made urban communities less safe, with disproportionate negative impacts in the Black community." He claims "abundant evidence," but he provides no citations whatsoever in the Endnotes to back that up (or anywhere else in the book, for that matter). I guess people in his partisan echo chamber all take that claim as gospel. Conclusory statements may be alright if your only goal in writing a book is to get in the mix for guest appearances on cable news shows. That's ultimately what people are tuning in for. But as a work of political science, such sloppiness is unacceptable.

There are also numerous points where he flatly contradicts himself on the same page, leading to reader whiplash. One glaring example, from page 25: "But, at their best, Republicans have also been the party of the upwardly mobile and the strivers, people who see the path to a better life in their own hard work, not a government handout." ... The very next paragraph: "The Republican Party under Trump moderated on entitlement cuts and health care, largely abandoning plans for a root and branch repeal of Obamacare and supporting multiple rounds of pandemic stimulus checks. This balance has proved an especially important one to strike with Hispanics..."

Here the author first claims minority voters are turning towards the GOP because they aren't seeking "a government handout," but then "multiple rounds of pandemic stimulus checks" a/k/a government handouts were especially important for Hispanic voters. We're faced with a direct contradiction (were Trump's so-called "handouts" and support for retirement programs crucial or irrelevant to his support from minority voters?), and what is the author even trying to say here?

Instead of this book, I recommend Mike Madrid's The Latino Century, which concerns the same topic, but without the shoddy analysis and jerry-built research. - 3/17/24

[Mechelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommend this book before the 2024 election.

I’ve been noticing something in the last 3 election cycles that I couldn’t quite put my finger on. There was the “the two parties are basically the same” rhetoric of 2012 and early 2016, and the “we’ve never been more polarized” nonsense of 2020, but underlying all of that is this sense that what we see in the media and what we see amongst normal people is vastly different.

I’ve experienced this myself recently. I’ve never felt more like a political outsider, despite working in campaigns for 10 years. My ideologies and beliefs haven’t changed, but the parties and their ideologies have changed vastly, pulling the rug out from under me - and I’m assuming thousands of other Americans. Whereas I used to be a solid moderate democrat, possibly even a little to the left, I now occupy this wide chasm between what the two parties claim to stand for.

Ruffini’s basic premise is that the oppressed/oppressor mindset is becoming increasingly distasteful to the majority of people without a college diploma (about 60%+ of the population), and this is especially true in minority and immigrant populations. To succeed in 2024, he says parties should shift towards traditional American values (hard work, individualism, equality — the things people used to associate with the US in a positive light), emphasis on America is the land of plenty where you can become whatever you want to become, and a focus on hope and agency.

He writes this from a Republican lens (because they’re the only side not actively fighting against this sentiment so many default Republican), but it would seem a third party that can adequately address these hopes and concerns could become a viable party in the future.

[Thomas George Phillips · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mr. Ruffini is an admitted George W. Bush acolyte; so, from the outset I was skeptical of anything he would write. His book was true to his politics. According to Mr. Ruffini, the Republican Party would be better served if it set out the elections of: 2024, 2028 and 2032. And wait until the 2036 election when Mr. Ruffini's multiracial populist coalition would remake the Republican Party.

According to Mr. Ruffini, the Republican Party is shifting away from Wall Street and more onto Main Street where a working class majority of Americans are. On that point, though, I do agree that more blue collar Americans are shifting towards the Republican Party.

Mr. Ruffini, also, has written many disparaging comments about former President Trump; he is certainly entitled to his opinion; even though his anger and frustration are misplaced.

All in all, too, Mr. Ruffini's book was just too mathematical and complicated for my non-mathematical mind.

[Mallory · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am not Republican or conservative, but I found this book well-researched, informational, and quite thoughtful. I recommend for all interested in political dynamics and shifts over the last 15 years, regardless of party affiliation

[Rick Burcik · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book carefully (and I do mean carefully) documents the shift among working-class Americans of all races from the Democrats to the GOP. Because of the author's thoroughness, most general readers will be overwhelmed and bored by the countless numbers and percentages. Still, for an avid political junky, "Party of the People" is a must-read. The other serious problem with this book, other than the endless statistics, is Mr. Ruffini's ideas regarding his recommended shifts in Republican public policy positions that are, in my opinion, far off base. If the existing policy prescriptions are attracting non-college voters in droves, why does the author recommend changes?

[Umar Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great read and included a lot of data to bolster arguments. The book also runs counter to the simplistic analysis people are exposed to on social media and cable news networks on a daily basis.

[Hasan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Party of the People by Patrick Ruffini was the last book I read in 2024, and it exceeded my expectations. Having followed Ruffini on social media, I had dismissed him as a GOP establishment figure and didn’t anticipate much from the book. However, his analysis of the shifting dynamics in American politics, particularly among minority voters, was eye-opening and, as a Democrat, a bit painful but necessary. Ruffini examines how the once-solid Democratic hold on minority communities, especially Asian and Latino voters, began to fracture after the 2016 election and worsened in 2020. Although the book was released in 2023, Ruffini’s insights about the changing political landscape appear remarkably prescient in 2024, especially with the realignment of Latino and Asian voters toward the GOP. This demographic shift is not a fleeting trend but a significant and long-term change in American politics.

What stood out most was Ruffini’s argument that the GOP is moving toward building a multiracial coalition. His analysis challenges Democrats, who have shifted leftward on issues like LGBT+ rights, crime, and border enforcement. Ruffini argues that many minority communities, especially immigrants, are more socially conservative than white liberals, and the Democratic Party’s leftward shift has alienated them. Drawing parallels to the political evolution of Irish and Italian immigrants, Ruffini suggests that Latinos and Asians may be following a similar path as they integrate into the American mainstream. While the book may overstate some claims, it offers valuable insights into the changing political allegiances of minority communities and serves as a wake-up call for the Democratic Party.

[Mark Linsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid overview from a center-right (Bush veteran/anti-Trump) GOP pollster on the changing party makeup that's happening. Non-college non-white voters shifting to the GOP in 2020 is probably one of the most important and under-covered stories in politics - the fact that Trump lost and then captured everyone's attention by trying to steal the election had a lot to do with that - but as a consequence, it's really under-appreciated, especially among high-educatated blue-state progressives who style themselves as on the side of racial minorities, just how much the Dems are losing their grip on blue-collar Hispanic, Asian, and - to a much lesser extent - Black voters.

For those who are liberal and are worried that this book will be too ideologically right-wing to be useful, or that it'll just be a screed against wokism, I wouldn't let that stop you from reading it. There are certainly parts of Ruffini's summary of recent history that I disagreed with, and there were a few throwaway lines that definitely did make me wince and weren't particularly data-backed, but the core of the book's thesis is quite sober, neutral, and data-driven. I think Bay Area/Manhattan progressives like me would benefit from reading this book most of all.

I did think that the book was a bit long - the whole first 50-60%, summarizing how the party coaltitions changed over time, won't really have much new for people who are well-read on electoral politics over the past 70 years. But the final 40-50% is good enough to recommend the book as a whole.

[Andrew Loposser · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are a lot of misconceptions about the Republican Party and its voters. Patrick Ruffini does a great job of showing us with #DATA where the party has picked up traditionally, non-Republican voters over the past few years and how we are continuing to grow. The Republican party is no longer the party of wealthy elites, it is the party of the people. The future of our party is bright, and I encourage you to check out Patrick’s book.

[Bill Manzi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book written by a Republican that Democrats should be paying attention to. Patrick Ruffini wrote this book before the 2024 election, and for those who have expressed some shock at the Donald Trump victory maybe a look at some of the key data contained in this book might have lessened that shock or helped to explain it after the fact.

I picked up knowledge of the book from the Ezra Klein podcast that produced a fascinating show with Ruffini. I do not think you can review this book without a reference to the book “The Emerging Democratic Majority” by John Judis and Roy Teixeira (and Ruffini refers to it often) in framing the discussion. (They have since written a follow-up, “Where Have All the Democrats Gone?”)

Judis and Teixeira, in 2002, forecasted, with some caveats, that the demographic tide that was increasing minority numbers in the United States would accrue to the electoral benefit of the Democratic Party. The assumption was that Hispanics, and Asians, would continue to vote predominantly for the Democratic Party. In combination with increasing Democratic strength with the professional class this theory of the case had Democrats emerging with an electoral base that would make them the majority party. I remember discussions of Texas being in play. I have, of course, oversimplified the Judis-Teixeira theory, but it will suffice for this review.

Ruffini gets to hard data, which was available to everybody before the 2024 election. We know that the basic divide in the country is between those with a college degree and those without a degree. The “professional class” had been, traditionally, solidly Republican. That has changed dramatically in favor of the Democratic Party. The Democratic hold on the white working class, a traditional source of strength over the years, has been slipping. It is not slipping any longer but is in free fall. To go back to Judis-Teixeira these losses for the Democrats would theoretically be made up by the strong hold of the party on so called minority groups. That is where Ruffini starts this evaluation.

The 2020 Presidential data, even with a Trump loss, should have set off alarm bells for Democrats. It would appear to me that no alarms were sounded. Some examples:

“With the suddenness of an Infinity Gauntlet finger snap Miami-Dade reset the conventional wisdom, thrusting the political world into a new reality, one where a second Trump term was within sight. In the largest Hispanic metropolis in America, Trump had gone from a 29-point drubbing four years earlier to just a 7 point deficit, a 22-point swing. …Trump had surged all along the Mexican border with Texas, including a 55-point swing in rural StarrCounty in the Rio Grande Valley, nearly winning a county that Clinton had captured four years earlier by 60 points. He won next door Zapata County, the first Republican since 1920 to do so.”

Ruffini, Patrick Party of the People pg. 10

These were not simply outliers, but reflective of nationwide trends. What was the constant? The college/non college divide was now being reflected in minority communities.

As Ruffini dives into the data he gets to one of his theories of the case. The gravitational pull of college educated white liberals has pulled the Democratic Party so far left that they have moved way beyond the ideological comfort zone of much of its rank and file, including and especially working class minorities.

“The ‘Latinx’ debacle provides an obvious and extreme example. A 2020 Pew Research Center study found that the gender-neutral alternative to Latino or Latina is known by fewer than one in four U.S. Hispanics, and used by just 3 percent. When we asked in a 2022 survey what term was best to use to describe Hispanics or Latinos in America, 9 percent of white liberal Democrats said Latinx, but zero Hispanics did. …Democratic representative Ruben Gallego of Arizona has pleaded with the parties allies to stop. ‘To be clear my office is not allowed to use ‘Latinx’ in official communications,’ tweeted Representative Gallego in December 2021. ‘When Latino politicos use the term it is largely to appease white rich progressives who think that is the term we use.’”

Ruffini, Patrick Party of the People pg. 109

You might think that is an example that does not mean much, but it is reflective of a mindset that is separating key constituencies from the Democratic Party. The drift of the working class away from the Democratic Party is not new. Ruffini goes back to the 1976 political science journal article by Everett Carll Ladd (link at my blog post.) The “hard hat riot” in New York where construction workers attacked Vietnam War protestors was an early sign of the divergence. That divergence moved to the cultural, where the chasm has just continued to widen. After continued labor support for the Nixon position on the Vietnam war a young aide named Patrick Buchanan saw the possibilities and outlined them in a memo to Nixon:

“It should be our focus to constantly speak to, to assure, to win, to aid, to promote the president’s natural constituency-which is now the working men and women of the country, the common man, the Roosevelt New Dealer. There is a great ferment in American politics; these, quite candidly, are our people now.”

Ruffini, Patrick Party of the People pg. 166

Even the younger Buchanan saw the potential that he would attempt to exploit as a Presidential candidate many years later, and that Donald Trump would successfully exploit in 2016.

There is just so much more to talk about on this subject. Ruffini, using data, has shown some things that we knew, but some things that were maybe not so well known.

1. The main split in the electorate is between those with college degrees and those that do not have degrees.
2. This divide, which had principally shown itself in the white working class, has begun to spread to other segments of the population (minority groups that had been seen as reliably Democratic)
3. The Democratic losses can be attributed to a misreading of the cultural values of some of these groups. Kitchen table issues, fear of crime, and a strong dislike of illegal immigration are key issues for many in these groups, with these issues not at the top of the Democratic Party agenda, or where they were the messaging was poor.

I thought the last quarter of the book was weaker than the strong start, but it gets five stars as the message, especially for Democrats, is critically important to understand. The follow-up by Judis-Teixeira has to be next up.

[Patrick Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Those who have been following the conversation around the "realignment" on the right won't find a ton to catch them off guard in this work by Ruffini, a well-respected D.C. pollster. But his breakdown of precent-level data, and the rumbles it shows of a Republican party that is less college-educated, less white, less religious, less "conservative" [at least according to the conventional standards of 1980s/1990s-era Republican thinking], and more popular provides evidence that the much-discussed transformation of the GOP shows signs of bearing fruit on the ground. Ruffini is right to underscore the class divide - predominantly between four-year-plus college graduates and those without a BA - as becoming the most important fault line for politics and culture today. (He also accurately points out that a popular pro-working class GOP will not simply adopt Bernie Sanders' economic agenda - not because donors will stand in the way, but because working-class voters don't want big government even as they want government to watch out for them.) The book's thesis - like so much political punditry about the "realignment - may only be fully tested after Trump leaves the scene. But as combination mea culpa and tea leaf reading exercise, it provides some gristle for political junkies to gnaw on.

[Graham Oberland · Rating 4 out of 5]

I came to this book as a Democrat searching for answers after the 2024 election. In a turn of events that seems all too ironic after reading the book, I got the recommendation from the Ezra Klein Show, which is undoubtedly a redoubt for just the type of out-of-touch, college-educated liberal voter that the book shows Demcrats are over-relying on. Overall I found it well-supported with data and very easy and quick to read. I'm puzzled by the reviews saying it's too long, but I am a political junkie so I'm biased.

The book boils down to two main ideas:
1. You can roughly divide the electorate in thirds - white college-educated, white non-college, and non-white (the latter two are the "multiracial populist" coalition of the title)
2. Many non-white voters, especially Hispanics, are starting to behave more like white voters in that they are voting along ideological, not identity, lines and moving towards a 50-50 party split.

The insight that will most stay with me from the book is how Ruffini compares the political journey of Hispanics to that of Irish and Italian Catholics. For the first couple generations, those groups were discriminated against as minorities and voted Democrat. As they moved towards more social acceptance and economic success, they began to vote more 50-50 and now lean Republican. Ruffini sees the same thing happening with Hispanics. He also maps some Republican shifts in Black voters, but to a lesser extent due to the unique historical experience with racism and civil rights, and the social impetus in Black communities to vote Democrat.

Overall, Ruffini argues that a party basically needs to win two of these three overarching groups while staying somewhat competitive with the third to win national elections. The authors of "The Emerging Democratic Majority" and their adherents believed that Democrats were destined to ride a demographic wave to a permanent majority by dominating college-educated democrats and nonwhites. That future is not coming to pass, however, because a) nonwhites are not as solidly Democratic as they used to be (see above) and b) Democratic losses among non-college whites have been much larger than expected. To support the second point, Ruffini shows fairly persuasively that appeal to non-college whites powered Obama's victory to an extent that was not fully appreciated at the time (while acknowledging that Obama did very well with nonwhites).

There is a very compelling section that college-educated liberals like me would do well to remember illustrating just how uncommon it is to have a college degree. What's more, it is even more uncommon to work in a field where a college degree is essentially required for entry. This leads to bubbles - the people in charge of the Democratic party (and, to be fair, the Republican party as well) live pretty much their entire lives interacting only with other people who have college degrees. This applies to those driving the conversation in the media and Twitter as well. The book served as an important reminder of just how disconnected that segment of society is from the majority needed to win elections.

My only complaints are that the book fails to acknowledge the big picture - Ruffini completely ignores the threat that Trump and the current GOP pose to democracy. . He mentions a few times that Trump may not be the ideal standard-bearer for Republicans, but he does not engage with Trump's open contempt for democracy and desire to weaponize the state against his enemies. The book strikes an optimistic tone, concluding with a discussion of the likely demographics in the America of 2036, without ever acknowledging that there is a real possibility that the US does not have fair elections by that point. To be fair, there is no real need for a pollster's book about voter preferences to take on the health of US democracy. However, I would have been interested in a discussion of whether the pro-Republican trends we are seeing are happening in spite of or because of Trump's authoritarian rhetoric and personal charisma. The closest we get is Ruffini's discussion of how Trump connects on a personal level with working class voters. I personally hope that visceral connection is the main part of Trump's appeal, and that his authoritarianism is a bug, not a feature. But this book ignores that part of the equation entirely.

More Democrats should read this book. Not because we are going to turn into Republicans, but to understand how the other side is thinking and get out of our bubbles. To be fair, we should probably also be reading books written by truer believers in the MAGA phenomenon, because Ruffini is definitely still fairly establishment. But this is a start.

[Alex Gruenenfelder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although I am not a Republican, I thought this was a brilliant book that resulted from a conservative pollster's attempts at "listening and learning" to the evolution of his party. Documenting the non-college educated majority and their increasing drive toward the political right, it reflects the increased value of education over race and income in voting. As the author writes of our modern voting patterns, "Culture, not race, is the key driving force behind these recent shifts." This is where I think this book is especially useful to all political junkies and those wishing to understand our modern republic.

That being said, it does have a solid conservative focus that would likely alienate some on the left. It in effect argues that the left should concede the culture wars, repeatedly cites supporters of the Vietnam War (including aggressors in the Hard Hat Riot) favorably, and attacks the Democratic Party's progressive turns. The biggest takeaway from this book, which I highly recommend to read in full, is that "voters never vote to say thank you." It's not enough to focus on the social safety nets you've given in the past, but you must prepare new action to address people's problems now. This book explores how increasingly diverse voters feel that way and why they think Republicans might fix it.

[E · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book, despite the misleading title (and terrible cover). This is basically a deep dive into demographic voting trends of the last 20 years. It's not especially focused on the GOP in particular, nor on a "multiracial populist coalition.' It covers the field in dozens of different ways. Utterly engrossing. When Ruffini does get to the 'multiracial populist coalition,' his point is that the GOP is losing college-educated whites, so it needs (and has gotten) more working-class whites, as well as hispanics and blacks (both groups of which are far more conservative on the whole than college-educated whites anyway, even if their voting patterns thus far don't reflect that fact).

In other words, a great snapshot of how Trump has changed the GOP. We'll see how much predictive power the data has (if any). But again, if crosstabs are your thing, you won't be able to put down this book.

[Rohan · Rating 3 out of 5]

(3.5) This is very meticulously researched and provides incredible insight into college vs. non-college voters, as well as the ideologies and voting trends among Latino, Asian-American, and Black voters. The book's overarching themes - on the Democratic party being monopolized by college-educated white voters as well as the mainstreaming of immigrants into the mainstream changing their voting behavior - are very compelling. But while it deals with the Republican embrace of working class voters very well, I would have liked much more engagement with social and cultural issues (and more data and insight into how voters of color are culturally conservative). The book also sometimes conflates economic progressivism with social/cultural progressivism and doesn't always draw out the difference between those two sets of values very well.

[Kevin B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book! It details how the Republican Party can retain the majority of the populist coalition. Patrick says that Trump and future GOP candidates should focus on non college voters to continue their winning streak in both electoral college and popular vote. It shows what voters cares about due to what they tell pollsters and it’s much more than just the economy. It has very little policy details and more on how voters think about politics and topics they care about and how their voting patterns have changed and will change all the way until 2036. Great book and recommend for those who want to look at where our politics are headed for the next 12 years.

[JS · Rating 4 out of 5]

2024 deer blind book #3:

This was one of the more interesting books that I have read recently. This dude kind of called the election this year, and once I heard that I had to check the book out. The author is a good pollster and has lots of data to back up his points. It was a fairly depressing book for me, as my ideology was found to be the smallest sliver in a pie chart, and both parties appear to be walking away from it. The data he showed about college educated folks kind of blew my mind. I think republicans, democrats and independents like myself should all check this book out

[John Paschold · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book, and Ruffini presents compelling evidence for a multiracial populist coalition arising that is more likely to benefit the Republican Party. However, I find it a bit too numerical to really enjoy - the book took me a longer time to read because of this. But overall, irrefutably presented evidence and certainly worth your time.

[Michael Linton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned a lot from this book. It doesn't get too bogged down into details, but it may be because Patrick is a strategist as opposed to a political scientist. This was written before the 2024 election so he didn't see how much more non-white moved to the Right. The big question is will that continue in the mid-terms or in 2028?

[Walter Latham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. While it is focused on the Republican Party, its description of the impact of social inequality—particularly inequality based on educational attainment—gives a helpful perspective on politics in America in 2024.

[Ronell Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anyone looking to make sense of the '24 election should read this book. It's one of the best at highlighting how Democrats lost their chance at a very winnable group that was formerly among the most reliable in their coalition, the working class.

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good book describing the realignment of the Republican Party and how democrats lost touch with the working class Americans and how minority groups are switching to GOP which helps me understand the current political landscape. Thank you Mr Ruffini

[max · Rating 3 out of 5]

- this book really gets it, even if you may disagree with Ruffini's priors (I certainly am not cut from his ideological background), they don't seem to cloud his judgement

- pretty much every chapter was compelling, whether it was putting existing changes into greater context through history, or through speaking with those on the ground that were putting some of these demographic changes in motion

- so for this book appears to have held up, but as outlined, we still have to see more, will be an interesting one to consider in the years ahead

[Steve Mayer · Rating 3 out of 5]

interesting political screed by an occasionally reasonable Republican. His analysis is reflected in news articles every week, unfortunately.

[Melissa]

Ezra klein

[Cheyanne Vanderdonckt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read after reading a profile in NYT. Analysis based on lots of data, not anecdotes or theories. Very helpful for understanding the results of 2024 election.

[Sarah Cooper · Rating 5 out of 5]

A prime example of this could have been brought to my attention yesterday (last week before the election) 🤣

[June · Rating 4 out of 5]

Makes sense

[veekas switched-to-storygraph · Rating 5 out of 5]

impressive depth of research, nuance, and insight about the disconnect between the major political parties and the majority of voters

[Glenn Isaj · Rating 4 out of 5]

Post election read after discovering Ruffini on twitter

Overall a solid read- Some parts felt a bit academic but it was spot on in predicting 2024 election