It’s a bleak winter morning in Millvale, a tiny municipality just outside of Pittsburgh. As one bypasser puts it, with the frankness lovingly associated with western Pennsylvania: “What a shitty, rainy day, huh?” But inside the diner where second-term Democratic congressman Chris Deluzio is sitting, the lights are auspiciously bright.

Tucked into a booth, Deluzio is the picture of politician-style rectitude: hair combed neatly, gold wedding ring glinting, a half-zip sweatshirt proudly bearing his name and the crest of the U.S. Congress. But there is something exceptional about him.

Deluzio represents Pennsylvania’s District 17, where we’re currently sitting. Because of its mix of working-class and college-educated voters, the district has been called a national bellwether. Ahead of the 2024 election, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee saw Deluzio — a populist Democrat — as “vulnerable” in his Rust Belt district.

Instead, this past November, Deluzio not only managed to easily swat away his Republican opponent but also outperformed the Harris/Walz ticket. Beaver County, the traditional Republican stronghold in District 17, moved farther toward Trump. It also moved toward Deluzio. To a Democratic Party in crisis, a guy like Chris Deluzio just may hold the key to salvation. 

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Inside the Millvale diner, old-timey crooner music reverberates. Framed photos of old white guys in suits dot the walls. The waiters putter around happily in T-shirts reading “TIME TO EAT.” Amid the pleasant bustle, Deluzio orders a cup of coffee and a Pittsburgh hash. (Base components: kielbasa, sauerkraut, melted Swiss.) Then, with a hushed swagger, he tells me, “The overall results in Pennsylvania swung toward Republicans. For me that didn’t happen at all — I swung it the other way.” 

Deluzio outran Harris by roughly two points in District 17. In Beaver County, where he lost, he still performed better against his Republican opponent than Harris did against Trump by over six percentage points. For Deluzio, the reason is simple: “I had a strong economic argument. The economic argument from the top of the ticket was… less direct.” 

This is Deluzio’s core argument: Corporate consolidation has made Americans’ lives worse. Fighting corporate greed — and loudly trumpeting that you’re doing so — is a powerful strategy for Democrats across the country. The Democrats largely abandoned that message in the 2024 election. For Deluzio, it’s critical they bring it back.