'The Necktie Is Dead': US Midterm Candidates Are Dressing for Votes

As Americans prepare to vote in the US midterm elections, candidates with their eye on Congress are not just competing on policy. In the social media age, they are using their personal style to attract attention and project their message, and their clothing has become a measure of their authenticity and appeal.

Celebrity fashion stylist Joe Zee said: 'Politicians are dressing for two jobs at once: to look capable of holding office but to also look connected to the people they want to represent.' From Alaska to Texas, several candidates have been standing out on the campaign trail in distinctive ways.

Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, who represents Washington's 3rd Congressional District, is embracing a relaxed, outdoorsy image. The former car repair shop owner is up for re-election on a platform focused on support for small businesses and working families, after capturing a Republican-held seat in her state in 2022. She favours low-fuss, low-key work jackets, flannel shirts, jeans and practical footwear.

Robert Ordway, a conservative public policy adviser and former owner of Capitol Hill Clothiers, says Gluesenkamp Perez is probably the most 'spot-on' when it comes to authenticity and where you come from, and that her style fits the Pacific Northwest's trees, forests and outdoor vibe. Tashira Halyard, an attorney and public policy expert based in Washington DC, says her style also carries a message championing the working class.

Democratic lawmaker Mary Peltola, running for a Senate seat in the battleground state of Alaska, takes a similar approach. She made headlines for wearing the traditional boots of the Yup'ik people while being sworn in as a congresswoman in 2022. During this election cycle, her rugged outdoor gear nods to her days working on a fishing boat on Alaska's Kuskokwim River and her 'fish, family and freedom' campaign slogan. Conservative author and journalist Bonnie Kristian says the flannels, puffer jackets and indigenous-inspired details seem designed to remind voters that Peltola is a native, and Native, Alaskan.

Republican Senate candidate Ashley Hinson of Iowa has opted for a bolder, patriotic image. While polished and conservative, her style has included classic, nostalgic touches such as denim and bandanas. In a tight race against her Democratic opponent, Hinson has tried to separate herself from specific policy decisions made by the Trump administration but has still expressed loyalty to the president. She wore pumps bedazzled with the American flag at a primary election party in Iowa in June. Halyard says the look is about literally wearing her patriotism on her sleeve.

Bonnie Kristian says there is a strategic advantage to Hinson's look: she is cultivating a visual identity that cannot possibly be misinterpreted in an era where a social media presence, even for a split second, is crucial. Her denim dress, red bandana and sparkly American flag shoes all signal that she is a Republican wooing rural voters, Kristian says.

Once a reliable Republican stronghold, Texas has become a battleground between top prosecutor Ken Paxton, 63, who was controversially endorsed by Trump over a longtime senator, and Democratic state lawmaker James Talarico, 37. On the campaign trail, both contenders have been making similar clothing choices, wearing relaxed blazers and cowboy boots. 'The necktie is dead on the campaign trail in both parties,' says Ordway. 'The younger man dresses up to look serious, and the older man dresses down to look like one of the guys.'

Fashion critic Friedman notes that Talarico's handcrafted Lucchese cowboy boots are a deliberate choice that speaks to all different kinds of constituencies in Texas, and that former US President George W Bush also wore Lucchese boots. Paxton's style, meanwhile, has drawn fire on more than one front: Trump has criticised it and urged voters to focus on his record, and his opponent has attacked him for wearing a pricey watch and a polo shirt from the luxury hotel chain Four Seasons while a debate about the high cost of living dominates the midterms. Stylist Joe Zee says a five-star resort-branded polo can carry luxury associations just as clearly as a suit, and that the perception can complicate a candidate's message.

Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn, a former congresswoman for Tennessee's 7th congressional district who is running for governor of her state, is often seen in structured jackets and skirts, sometimes with patterns. Ordway remembers that Blackburn was extremely polished, and that as a veteran politician her decisions about how voters see her dress were probably made many years ago. Kristian adds that her looks tend to be fairly timeless, the kind Republican women could have worn at any time in the last three decades.

Michigan Democratic candidate for US Senate Abdul El-Sayed, in a highly competitive race against a Trump-backed former congressman, has adopted a consistent look of a black V-neck T-shirt and blue jeans. His campaign slogan is 'money out of politics, money in your pocket', and he refers to his outfit choices as 'minimal look, maximal politics'. Ordway says the effect is reminiscent of a start-up entrepreneur, designed to appeal to an urban, working-class electorate. Zee says looking un-styled can still be a deliberate form of branding, since it suggests attention should go to what he is saying.

Friedman notes that the master of this look in the US at the moment is Trump himself. His instantly recognisable power suit and red tie, cultivated in film and reality TV even before he moved into the White House, are now worn by his cabinet as well. In Friedman's words, a navy suit, red tie and white shirt have become a signifier: 'oh, that's a Trump person.'

Whatever the outcome of the elections for Trump and his party, Friedman expects to see more politicians effectively branding themselves with their clothing when the 2028 general election rolls around. So much of politics now is fought over social media and TV, she says, and that places a premium on visual messaging that is only going to become more important.