SPRINGFIELD, Illinois — In casual conversations with Democrats in August from across the Midwest, I found that their biggest frustration with the national party is that its platform didn’t appeal to them. I was not surprised to see that same sentiment captured in a poll by the Wall Street Journal around the same time. It found Democrats’ popularity cratering with a staggering 63% of voters holding an unfavorable view of the party.

One month later, another survey by the Wall Street Journal showed that people are losing faith that they will achieve the American dream in their lifetime — and worse, they fear it will even be further out of reach for their children and grandchildren. This sentiment should concern leaders in both parties, but in particular the Democrats, who have bottomed out with appealing to the middle-class voter.