Winning working-class votes is not just a moral imperative but a mathematical one: it is the only way to construct the political majorities the Left will need to carry out the transformation we seek. But by many measures, working-class voters, across race, have shifted to the right. Jared Abbott’s essay in the last Jacobin issue, “A Populism of the Left Can Realign American Politics,” offers evidence-based practical suggestions for how to win the votes of at least some working-class voters not already firmly in the progressive camp.

Though the tone of Abbott’s piece is upbeat, in fact he offers no easy answers, and that is to be commended. The right set of policies and messages from Democrats is not going to upend most voters’ preferences. He does not suggest that if Democrats simply swapped out identity for class, dealignment will be swiftly reversed. But he does show that there are working-class voters in this country — including in the “swing” districts and states where governing majorities are decided — whose votes are up for grabs and who are responsive to at least some bio-graphical, messaging, and substantive appeals that come organically to progressives. Smart strategy can be built on the basis of this kind of analysis.

Abbott’s piece, and the Center for Working-Class Politics research on which it’s based, show where some of the low-hanging fruit lies. Working-class voters like candidates from working-class backgrounds. Their research gives some indication that a “populist” messaging frame — one that names, roughly, a class enemy — can appeal to blue-collar voters. Though the results are a bit more mixed and the set of issues tested was small, there’s evidence that many working-class voters support left-wing economic policies.