Rust Belt
Donald Trump’s Tough But Plausible Path to Winning the White House
The Republican billionaire’s support among working-class whites is worrying some Democrats and labor leaders.
Donald Trump’s Plausible Path to a November Win
This article is for subscribers only.
For months, Democratic strategists viewed Donald Trump as a dream opponent in the 2016 presidential race—a clownish political novice who would gift their front-runner, Hillary Clinton, the White House in a landslide.
But the glee has given way to some pangs of anxiety as the Republican candidate marches to the nomination. Trump's unexpected success in the primary has revealed his uncanny ability to appeal to the fears of working-class Americans, which some Democratic and Republican operatives say could scramble the electoral map by putting in play Midwestern states that have voted Democrat in recent elections.