Now more than ever, privileged elites dominate the U.S. Congress and state legislatures.  The economic needs and concerns of ordinary citizens get less attention than they might if elected officeholders looked more like the country as a whole.

Read the full Carnes brief here.

Learn more about Nicholas Carnes and his work on the effects of legislators' personal and class backgrounds on policymaking and economics.

Promising efforts are being undertaken by the AFL-CIO in New Jersey to recruit, train, mentor and support union members running for political office. Read more about their Labor Candidates Program here.

And find out what Meredith Sadin has learned about how voters assess the class backgrounds of candidates.