'The necktie is dead': How US midterm candidates are dressing for votes

'The necktie is dead': How US midterm candidates are dressing for votes

As Americans get ready to cast ballots in the US midterm elections, congressional hopefuls are competing on more than just policy.

In the social media era, they are leaning on personal style to draw attention and signal their message. What they wear has become a gauge of authenticity and appeal.

"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," said Joe Zee, a celebrity fashion stylist.

From Alaska to Texas, here is a look at how some candidates have been making themselves stand out on the campaign trail.

Some contenders, including Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, who represents Washington's 3rd Congressional District, are leaning into a relaxed, outdoorsy image.

The former car repair shop owner is seeking re-election on a platform centered on support for small businesses and working families, after winning a Republican-held seat in her state in 2022.

She prefers simple, understated work jackets, flannel shirts, jeans and practical shoes.

Robert Ordway, 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".

"Also it really vibes with the Pacific Northwest, which has trees and forests and a little bit more of an outdoor vibe," he says.

Her style also "shepherds a message championing the working class", says Tashira Halyard, an attorney, content creator, and public policy expert based in Washington DC.

Democratic lawmaker Mary Peltola, who is running for a Senate seat in the battleground state of Alaska, takes a similar tack.

She drew attention for wearing traditional boots of the Yup'ik people when she was sworn in as a congresswoman in 2022.

In this election cycle, her rugged outdoor clothing points back to her time working on a fishing boat on Alaska's Kuskokwim River and her "fish, family and freedom" campaign slogan.

The flannels, puffer jackets and indigenous-inspired details appear intended to remind voters that Peltola is a native (and Native) Alaskan, says conservative author and journalist Bonnie Kristian.

Other candidates, including Republican Senate candidate Ashley Hinson of Iowa, have chosen a bolder, patriotic look.

Though polished and conservative, her wardrobe has featured classic, arguably nostalgic elements, including denim and bandanas for more casual outings.

In a close race against her Democratic opponent, Hinson has tried to distance herself from specific policy choices made by the Trump administration while still voicing loyalty to the president.

She wore pumps with the American flag bedazzled across them at a primary election party in Iowa in June.

The look, reminiscent of what Trump supporters wear at rallies, is quintessential American patriotism, according to Halyard.

"Ashley's American flag high heels, denim dress and bright red blouse worn with a bandana around her neck are classic Americana," she says.

"It's this idea that… I'm literally going to wear my patriotism on my sleeve."

Journalist Bonnie Kristian says there is "a strategic advantage" to Hinson's look, one in which she is "cultivating a visual identity that cannot possibly be misinterpreted" in an era where social media presence, even for a split second, matters.

"Her denim dress, red bandana and sparkly American flag shoes all signal that she's a Republican wooing rural voters - and indeed she is."

Once a dependable 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 men have been making similar wardrobe 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 very deliberate choice that allows him to speak to all different kinds of constituencies in Texas".

"Those boots mean something that is very deeply rooted in Texas semiology," Friedman says, referring to the study of signs and their interpretations.

"Former US President George W Bush wore Lucchese cowboy boots, so suddenly you're crossing all sorts of party lines and tapping into all sorts of different electoral groups with your shoes."

Meanwhile, Paxton's style has faced criticism on several fronts.

It has drawn Trump’s disapproval, with the former president urging voters to focus on Paxton's record because it "speaks a lot louder than the suit he's wearing that doesn't look so great".

The Republican candidate has also been criticised by his opponent for wearing an expensive watch and a polo shirt from the luxury hotel chain Four Seasons as a debate over the high cost of living dominates the midterms.

"The criticism around his apparent luxury watch and Four Seasons polo raises another style-branded question: casual clothes don't necessarily communicate an ordinary lifestyle," says Zee, a stylist and faculty associate at Arizona State University's Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising.

"A five-star resort-branded polo can carry luxury associations just as clearly as a suit.

"The watch's identity and value were unconfirmed, but the perception illustrates how an accessory can complicate a candidate's message," he explains.

A uniform, if it feels natural, is an extremely effective tool, says Friedman, and a strong way to be recognised nationwide.

That approach has been adopted by Republican Senator and former congresswoman for Tennessee's 7th congressional district, Marsha Blackburn, who is running for governor of her state.

Senator Blackburn is often seen in structured jackets and skirts, sometimes patterned.

Ordway recalls that Blackburn "was extremely polished" whenever he saw her on Capitol Hill while working there as a legislative director for a former Indiana senator.

"I always saw pearls on her," he says.

"Since she's a veteran politician I think how she dresses in relation to how voters see her was probably decided many, many years ago."

"Her looks tend to be fairly timeless - we could imagine GOP women wearing many of them any time in the last three decades," Kristian adds.

Meanwhile, Michigan Democratic candidate for US Senate Abdul El-Sayed, who is in a highly competitive race against a Trump-backed former congressman, has settled on a consistent black V-neck T-shirt and blue jeans.

The left-wing political outsider, whose campaign slogan is "money out of politics, money in your pocket", describes his clothing choices as "minimal look, maximal politics".

The effect, says Ordway, is similar to a start-up entrepreneur and is meant to appeal to an urban, working-class electorate.

It also strips away much of the "ceremony of a political appearance", Zee says.

"The suggestion is that attention should go to what he is saying. But the plain T-shirt remains an image choice. Looking un-styled can still be a deliberate form of branding."

Friedman notes that the master of this look in the US right now is Trump.

His instantly recognisable power suit and red tie, long familiar from film and reality TV, were developed even before he entered the White House.

"[Trump] doesn't just have his own merch, but he's got his own outfit, and now he's got all his cabinet wearing the same outfit, and half the Senate is wearing his outfit, and it becomes like a Pavlovian signifier," Friedman says.

"If they're wearing a navy suit, red tie, and white shirt, you're like, 'oh, that's a Trump person,'" she says.

Whatever happens in the elections for Trump and his party, Friedman expects politicians to keep branding themselves through clothing when the 2028 general election arrives.

"What we see is that so much of politics now is fought over social media and over TV, and that places a premium on visual messaging that is only going to become more important."