Noam Lupu
@noamlupu.bsky.social
Vanderbilt political scientist • Director of CGD and LAPOP Lab • author http://amzn.to/2x5DuN5
Come work with me and my brilliant colleagues! jobs.chronicle.com/job/38048348...
Associate or Full Professor in Comparative Politics - Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN job with Vanderbilt University | 38048348
Associate or Full Professor in Comparative Politics appointment Vanderbilt Department of Political Science
jobs.chronicle.com
Less than 1% of major party nominees for Congress are working class. It is one of the most fundamental ways that Congress is not representative. And their views, e.g. on unregulated gambling websites, are apt to be different. www.bloomberg.com/features/202...
Why Working-Class Candidates Are Almost Never on the Ballot
Less than 1% of major-party candidates competing for a seat in the US Congress have a background in manual trades or service industries.
bloomberg.com
Qasim Rashid, Esq.@qasimrashid.com · 3w agoANGIE NIXON DID NOT COME TO PLAY. LETS GOOOOO! Click below and donate to her campaign for us senate❤️✊🏽 secure.actblue.com/donate/frien...
There are over 900 major-party candidates for Congress this election cycle and less than 1% of them had a working-class job when they got into politics. My new book with Nick dispels some myths and explains why working-class people are underrepresented in every democracy in the world.
Nick Carnes@carnes.bsky.social · 12h agoIt's finally publication day for this decade-in-the-making book. @noamlupu.bsky.social and I explain why working-class jobs make up 70% of the average democracy's labor force, but only 2% of the average democracy's national lawmakers had working-class jobs when they got into politics.
It's finally publication day for this decade-in-the-making book. @noamlupu.bsky.social and I explain why working-class jobs make up 70% of the average democracy's labor force, but only 2% of the average democracy's national lawmakers had working-class jobs when they got into politics.
Great project from two top scholars. Fantastic cover. Congrats @carnes.bsky.social & @noamlupu.bsky.social!
Nick Carnes@carnes.bsky.social · 12h agoIt's finally publication day for this decade-in-the-making book. @noamlupu.bsky.social and I explain why working-class jobs make up 70% of the average democracy's labor force, but only 2% of the average democracy's national lawmakers had working-class jobs when they got into politics.
Why is it rare for the working class around the globe to hold political office? Check out this @bloomberg.com piece by @carnes.bsky.social and @noamlupu.bsky.social, authors of Keeping Workers Off the Ballot: buff.ly/LD8635D ($)
Why Working-Class Candidates Are Almost Never on the Ballot
Less than 1% of major-party candidates competing for a seat in the US Congress have a background in manual trade of service industries.
buff.ly
WERE YOU AWARE: If you made a list of every major-party candidate in the midterms who last had a working-class job, it would only have 7 names (out of 919 candidates) and you could fit them them all on a post-it note. @noamlupu.bsky.social and I have thoughts. www.bloomberg.com/features/202...
“Of the 919 candidates running as major-party nominees for the US House and Senate this November, only seven had a working-class job when they got into politics. That’s less than 1%, despite working-class jobs making up about half of the US labor force.” @carnes.bsky.social and I explain why.
Why Working-Class Candidates Are Almost Never on the Ballot
Less than 1% of major-party candidates competing for a seat in the US Congress have a background in manual trades or service industries.
bloomberg.com
Mark your schedule! Join us this evening for the 122nd APSA Presidential Address: The University in an Era of Democratic Erosion, w/ APSA President, Susan Stokes, in Hynes, 302 at 6:30 p.m. #APSA2026
This is a great podcast in that it shows how analysis of politics that is grounded in data and empiricism (Bouie) has an uphill battle in DC/NY against ideology and pure uncut reactionary ignorance (Cottle) www.nytimes.com/2026/08/22/o...
Opinion | The Right Is Rethinking MAGA. The Left Is Rethinking ‘Woke.’
As primary results trickle in, both parties are wrestling with what they stand for — and where they’re headed.
nytimes.com
Why does the working class account for only 1% of lawmakers in the US? Read this @us.theconversation.com piece by @noamlupu.bsky.social and @carnes.bsky.social, authors of Keeping Workers Off the Ballot: How Democracy Undermines Working-Class Representation (out October 6!): buff.ly/2Hyz9ay
Why working-class people account for around 1% of lawmakers in the US – and only 2% in the average democracy around the world
Campaigning anywhere for any office at any level of government is personally burdensome.
theconversation.com
The Democratic Party has let a consulting industry exploit elderly donors in its name, wreck its reputation and finances in the process, and walk away rich whether the party wins or loses. When a mirror is held up, the instinct is to break the glass rather than look. On why the press looks away:
The Bulwark Killed an Investigation into Political Fundraising Spam After Its Publisher Took the Consultants’ Side
This is a story about the Democratic Party captured by its consultants, and about what happens when the pro-democracy press is asked to say so.
data4democracy.substack.com
Working-class people make up half the U.S. workforce, but just 1% of lawmakers. And the gap is global: 2% of legislators in the average democracy come from working-class jobs. Why? New from CGD Director @noamlupu.bsky.social & @carnes.bsky.social in @us.theconversation.com: tinyurl.com/mrxvpkt2
Why working-class people account for around 1% of lawmakers in the US – and only 2% in the average democracy around the world
Campaigning anywhere for any office at any level of government is personally burdensome.
tinyurl.com
Working-class people almost never go on to become politicians, and that's not a fluke or a recent development: it's a ***built-in feature of elections*** in all democracies (w/ @noamlupu.bsky.social) theconversation.com/why-working-...
Why working-class people account for around 1% of lawmakers in the US – and only 2% in the average democracy around the world
Campaigning anywhere for any office at any level of government is personally burdensome.
theconversation.com
P.S. It's not just strategists--it's candidates and electeds, too. And it's not just the Democratic Party, it's both of them. And it's not just the U.S.--it's every country that uses elections to select leaders. press.princeton.edu/books/hardco... @noamlupu.bsky.social
Keeping Workers Off the Ballot
Why the underrepresentation of the working class in political office is an inevitable side effect of electoral democracy itself
press.princeton.edu
Nick Carnes@carnes.bsky.social · 2mo agoNYT: Dem 2024 ”autopsy” was redacted to exclude chapter arguing that “most senior Democratic strategists in 2024 were ’financially secure’ and thus removed from the challenges facing many Americans.” First step is admitting you have a problem. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/03/u...
This fall we'll see lots of "how workers vote" stories that implicitly get away with saying a party is "a working-class party" even though almost none of its candidates or electeds come from working-class jobs. press.princeton.edu/books/paperb... @noamlupu.bsky.social @princetonupress.bsky.social
. @noamlupu.bsky.social and I talked to @rorytruex.bsky.social about our new book, Keeping Workers Off the Ballot (out this October with @princetonupress.bsky.social) substack.com/@rorytruex/n...
Why Is Working Class Representation So Low?
Interview with Nick Carnes and Noam Lupu
substack.com
🏆 The 2025 GESIS Klingemann Prize goes to: @luanarusso.bsky.social (Maastricht Univ.) & Paula Schulze Brock (European Comm. JRC) Their article examines how cooperation with populist radical right parties shapes public attitudes. 🔗https://tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01402382.2024.2336436 👏🧵
🔁 Updated link — please see below 📢 Call for Proposals: 2027 #AmericasBarometer Submit survey questions for a leading cross-national study of democracy & public opinion across the Americas. 📅 Deadline: May 25, 2026 🔗 Learn more & apply: www.vanderbilt.edu/lapop/2027Am...
2027 AmericasBarometer - Call for Proposals
vanderbilt.edu
Center for Global Democracy@vu-cgd.bsky.social · 5mo ago📢 Call for Proposals: 2027 #AmericasBarometer Submit survey questions for a leading cross-national study of democracy & public opinion across the Americas. 📅 Deadline: May 25, 2026 🔗 Learn more & apply: www.vanderbilt.edu/lapop/untitl...
Page proofs. We argue that electoral democracy itself is the reason why people from working-class jobs almost never go on to hold office. Elections are burdensome and gatekeepers pass over workers; rare gains in worker representation are fleeting. More in October. (with @noamlupu.bsky.social )
Noam Lupu@noamlupu.bsky.social · 6mo agoWhy don't working-class people run for office? Anywhere you look in the world, people who run for office are considerably better off than most folks. That inequality affects the way our institutions work: from the kinds of policies they produce to how people feel about their democracy.
Why don't working-class people run for office? Anywhere you look in the world, people who run for office are considerably better off than most folks. That inequality affects the way our institutions work: from the kinds of policies they produce to how people feel about their democracy.
”Working class” means whatever you want. There‘s no research and no need for consistency. Use it however: People without college degrees, jobs that *require* college degrees, veterans of any rank, prominent wealthy surgeons, any candidate you like, any voter you dislike. w/ @noamlupu.bsky.social
Interesting AmericasBarometer result from @johnsides.bsky.social in this week's @goodauth.bsky.social newsletter. Strong public willingness to trade features of democracy (free elections, free expression) for material and physical security, with some party differences. mailchi.mp/goodauthorit...
We’re so excited to be the new home for this important global survey project. Looking forward to working with the many scholars around the world who are such a big part of this collaborative network.
Center for Global Democracy@vu-cgd.bsky.social · 8mo ago📢Big news! CGD at @vanderbilt.edu is now the U.S. home of the Comparative Study of Election Surveys (@cses.bsky.social). In partnership with @gesis.org, CGD will manage this flagship international collaboration on open, high-quality election data worldwide. tinyurl.com/y28xaxr4
📢Big news! CGD at @vanderbilt.edu is now the U.S. home of the Comparative Study of Election Surveys (@cses.bsky.social). In partnership with @gesis.org, CGD will manage this flagship international collaboration on open, high-quality election data worldwide. tinyurl.com/y28xaxr4
Vanderbilt’s Center for Global Democracy becomes U.S. home for the Comparative Study of Election Surveys
Vanderbilt University’s Center for Global Democracy is the new U.S. institutional home for the Comparative Study of Election Surveys, a leading global resource for understanding elections and democrat...
tinyurl.com
* Please repost and share * Call for Papers (due March 1st) Workshop on "Frontiers in Representation: Citizen Assemblies, Deliberative Mini-Publics, and Participatory Democracy," August 14, Vanderbilt University more info: docs.google.com/document/d/1... submit papers: forms.gle/k7BH4so2QJxQ...
🚨 Apply now! 🚨
Center for Global Democracy@vu-cgd.bsky.social · 9mo ago📢 Applications are open for our 2026 Summer School in International Survey Methods! An 8-day, in-person program for graduate students, faculty, and research practitioners working on surveys beyond the U.S. 🗓 June 8–17, 2026 🔗 Apply by Feb. 9: forms.office.com/r/Q4ZwT75jE4
The New York Times editorial board has a nice visualization of selection on the dependent variable, if you're teaching a research methods class this semester: www.nytimes.com/2025/10/20/o...
Opinion | America Still Has a Political Center, and It’s the Key to Winning
nytimes.com
Very happy to be partnering with Note Dame and launching data collection for the AmericasBarometer!
Center for Global Democracy@vu-cgd.bsky.social · 12mo agoWe’re thrilled to announce the launch of our 2025/26 #AmericasBarometer 🚀, w/ support from @kellogginstitute.bsky.social! This partnership combines survey expertise & regional knowledge to continue delivering top-notch comparative data. 📰 Read more from @vuartsci.bsky.social: t.co/g0PcgUqCsr
Just out at JOP (www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/epdf/10....) : Why do so few working-class people hold office? It's not lack of interest. Noam Lupu and I ran 10 surveys in 8 countries and found no evidence of a social class gap in how often qualified people consider running.
