As far as political demography goes, CNN political analyst Jess McIntosh points out that Democrats do not have a white working class problem:
“It’s all about optics. Trump did a good job of doing it, he stole the adage that blue-collar voters are socially conservative and for traditional values and so all of that is about framing the argument. So when she is talking about social issues and the kinds of things that are most sensitive to those working class voters like abortion and same-sex marriage, I think that puts him on the defense.”
However, the party also risks fragmenting over these issues as they focus on college-educated whites, wrote McIntosh, noting that this group “has drifted so far right that it’s a big self-inflicted wound.”
In this new era, “the only constituency that’s decisive,” McIntosh said, “is women.”
“You’re going to see an expansion in the pie, not a shrinking,” said Donna Brazile, the longtime Democratic party operative. “When I was working for Bill Clinton… it was always mixed-income whites, and then after, it was suburbs. All of these white working-class voters are people who are college-educated. It’s probably not going to change so much.
“They want to remain comfortable. They’re not going to be willing to change their social views and so if they’re the Democrats, they need to be culturally sensitive to how they change their personal lives.”
CNN’s David Axelrod asked on the New Day: “Do they have a white working class problem?” “My view is no,” responded Russ Feingold, the former senator from Wisconsin. “I think she’s drawn attention to that and that’s why it’s more important to understand the distinctions between black working-class voters who will vote for any candidate at any given moment and white working-class voters—we still don’t really know—who can really be easily persuaded.”