在红州和蓝州，非传统候选人正在淡化 — 甚至摒弃 — 党派标签，以利用选民对华盛顿的深恶痛绝。
In red states and blue, unconventional candidates are downplaying — or even disowning — party labels to tap into voters' deep disdain for Washington.
为什么这很重要：他们可能并非全部获胜，但政治局外人与选民建立联系的 sheer 数量告诉我们一些关于选民的事情：他们愤怒且愿意冒险。
Why it matters: They might not all win, but the sheer number of political outsiders connecting with voters tells us something about the electorate: It's angry and willing to take risks.
- 这些候选人 — 无论他们来自讲坛还是 NFL 边线 — 正在下同样的赌注：选民对职业政客感到厌倦。
• The candidates — whether they come from the pulpit or the NFL sidelines — are making the same bet: Voters are tired of career politicians.
聚焦：考虑三位在三个红州参议院竞选中领先的非正统民主党人：得克萨斯州的一位长老会神学生（州众议员詹姆斯·塔拉里科），堪萨斯州的一位大型教会牧师（亚当·汉密尔顿），以及阿拉斯加州的一位阿拉斯加原住民（前众议员玛丽·佩特奥拉，她曾因帝王鲑鱼洄游而请假一周去钓鱼，错过了众议院的一周投票）。
Zoom in: Consider three unorthodox Democrats leading in Senate contests in three red states: a Presbyterian seminarian in Texas (state Rep. James Talarico), a megachurch pastor in Kansas (Adam Hamilton), and an Alaska Native in that state (former Rep. Mary Peltola, who once skipped a week of House votes to go fishing when Chinook salmon were running).
- 深蓝明尼苏达州的参议院竞赛 features Michele Tafoya — 一名前 NFL 边线记者，她获得了特朗普总统的背书，但自称独立共和党人。她正在对民主党佩吉·弗拉纳甘（副州长）发起严肃挑战。
• Deep-blue Minnesota's Senate race features Michele Tafoya — a former NFL sideline reporter who's endorsed by President Trump but calls herself an independent Republican. She's mounting a serious challenge to Democrat Peggy Flanagan, the lieutenant governor.
- 在众议院竞选中，民主党方面有蒙大拿州的一名烟跳消防员（萨姆·福斯特格），科罗拉多州的一名 29 岁咖啡师（梅拉特·基罗斯），以及得克萨斯州的一名特哈诺歌手（鲍比·普利多）。
• In House races, on the Democratic side there's a smokejumper in Montana (Sam Forstag), a 29-year-old barista in Colorado (Melat Kiros) and a Tejano singer in Texas (Bobby Pulido). Four independent Senate candidates
四位独立参议院候选人正在争取民主党选民的支持，而不在名字旁挂上 (D) 标识 — 有时甚至在没有民主党人正式参选的情况下。
are courting Democratic voters without running with a (D) next to their names — and sometimes without a Democrat officially in the race.
- 在内布拉斯加州，丹·奥斯本 — — 一名工会蒸汽管工和前工厂机械师，正在对前两任州长皮特·里克茨发起严肃的独立挑战，里克茨的家族拥有芝加哥小熊队。
• In Nebraska, Dan Osborn, a union steamfitter and former factory mechanic, is mounting a serious independent challenge to Sen. Pete Ricketts, a former two-term governor whose family owns the Chicago Cubs.
- 在蒙大拿州，塞思·博德纳 — — 一名前陆军绿色贝雷帽和蒙大拿大学校长，正以独立身份参选一个空缺的参议院席位。民主党曾试图说服他们的提名人退出，但她选择留在竞选中。
• In Montana, Seth Bodnar, a former Army Green Beret and University of Montana president, is running as an independent for an open Senate seat. Democrats tried to persuade their nominee to drop out, but she stayed in the race.
- 在南达科他州，曾任公园管理员的布赖恩·本格斯正以独立人士身份挑战共和党参议员迈克·朗斯。四年前，本格斯曾以民主党人身份挑战参议员约翰·图恩。
• In South Dakota, Brian Bengs, a onetime park ranger, is challenging Republican Sen. Mike Rounds as an independent. Four years ago, Bengs ran against Sen. John Thune as a Democrat.
- 在爱达荷州，前陆军坦克指挥官兼科技高管托德·阿基利斯正以独立人士身份挑战共和党参议员吉姆·里施。（阿基利斯此前曾以民主党人身份在爱达荷州众议院任职。官方民主党参议院候选人于7月退出了竞选。）
• In Idaho, former Army tank commander and tech executive Todd Achilles is running as an independent against Republican Sen. Jim Risch. (Achilles previously served in the Idaho House as a Democrat. The official Democratic Senate nominee dropped out of the race in July.) For many Republicans
对许多共和党人而言以独立人士身份参选的准民主党人构成了作弊行为——一种通过抛弃不受欢迎的品牌来欺骗选民的尝试。
quasi-Democrats running as independents amount to foul play— an attempt to deceive voters by discarding an unpopular brand. Between the lines:
言之间：即便是背景更为传统的候选人，也在为迎合民粹主义潮流而修饰自己的履历。
Even candidates with more conventional backgrounds are shading their biographies to meet the populist moment.
- 在缅因州参议院竞选中，民主党人特罗伊·杰克逊——他在2024年因任期限制离职前，曾在州众议院和州议院任职二十余年——将自己介绍为第五代缅因州伐木工。
• In the Maine Senate race, Democrat Troy Jackson — who spent two decades in the state House and Senate before being term-limited out in 2024 — introduces himself as a fifth-generation Maine logger.
通往华盛顿的民粹主义之路至少可以追溯到安德鲁·杰克逊总统，他于1829年首次就职。它也如同特朗普总统般崭新。
The populist path to Washington is at least as old as President Andrew Jackson, who first took office in 1829. It's as fresh as President Trump.
- 近年来，两党都出现了非传统候选人。有人成功；有人失败。
• In recent years, there have been unorthodox candidates on both sides. Some succeeded; others didn't.
- 阿尔·弗兰肯因在《周六夜现场》担任作家和演员而闻名，他在2008年赢得了明尼苏达州的美国参议院席位，并在辞职前任职超过八年。
• Al Franken, famous for being a writer and actor on "Saturday Night Live," won a U.S. Senate seat in Minnesota in 2008 and served more than eight years before resigning.
- 赫舍尔·沃克是一位备受赞誉的大学橄榄球和NFL跑卫，但在2022年佐治亚州的参议院竞选中未能得分。
• Herschel Walker, a celebrated college and NFL running back, couldn't find the end zone in his 2022 Senate race in Georgia. Say what you want
你说什么都行关于第45任和第47任总统：这位钟爱金箔的纽约开发商已经赢得了不满的工薪阶层选民的共鸣。
about the 45th and 47th president: The New York developer with a penchant for gold leaf has connected with disaffected working-class voters.
- 民主党在吸引非大学教育选民方面一直难以匹敌特朗普的吸引力，但特朗普此轮通过发动一场不受欢迎的战争并实施被选民认为导致高物价的关税，使得民主党的任务变得更容易了。
• Democrats have struggled to match Trump's appeal to non-college-educated voters, but Trump has made their task easier this cycle with an unpopular war and tariffs that voters blame for high prices. The bottom line:
底线是：今年早些时候，在民主党初选中，一场类似于叛乱者与既得利益者之间的较量上演，当时有七名众议院在职议员落选 — — 这追平了21世纪以来的最高纪录。其中包括科罗拉多州的29岁咖啡师、民主社会主义者基罗斯，他在初选中击败了一位连续任职15届的现任议员，并有望在下个月轻松取胜。
A version of the insurgent-vs.-establishment battle played out in Democratic primaries earlier this year, when seven House incumbents went down —tying a 21st-century high • That included Kiros, the 29-year-old Colorado barista and democratic socialist who defeated a 15-term incumbent in the primary and is on a glide path to victory next month.