How Do You Beat The Rising Left Populists? Republicans Have To Learn On The Fly

August 17, 2026 11:08 AM ET The Republican playbook for November comes down to a wardrobe change no Democrat can pull off. That’s the bet, at least, from the officials tasked with beating a new class of Democratic candidates who slip on a Carhartt jacket and call themselves working-class populists.Across the country, Democrat populists like Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff and Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed are running on the economy, courting voters frustrated with the state of the country and pitching themselves as the answer on prices and the cost of living. (RELATED: ‘DSA Is Our MAGA’: The Democratic Establishment Faces A Reckoning)In some cases, they’re proving hard to beat, officials directly involved in the GOP’s 2026 midterm operation told the Caller. But the officials say they ha