We sent our reporter Amos Barshad out to Western Pennsylvania on a bleak day in December to speak with Congressman Chris Deluzio about how he won reelection even as the whole state shifted right. That story, “The Democrat With The Secret Sauce,” lays out Deluzio’s winning populist message and what other Democrats can learn from it. In this exclusive interview excerpt available only to paying subscribers, Deluzio explains how he landed on his economic messaging and how the Democratic party could use populism to start winning again.
Did you feel confident during your race?
It depends on when we’re talking about, right, because we’re not polling every couple weeks or every month in a Congressional race. [But] between the data and what I was seeing talking to voters, I felt pretty good. I always thought I would win. [The final result] was eight [points], better than my margin last time. The overall results in Pennsylvania swung much more toward Republicans. For me, that didn’t happen at all. I swung it the other way.
Look — I had a strong economic argument. The economic argument from the top of the ticket was … less direct. And other congressional Democrats who outperformed — a lot of them had strong economic populist messages. The colleagues of mine who, like me, overperformed: They picked some fights.
