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

ByNardine Saad

US reporter

As Americans prepare to vote in the US midterm elections, candidates with their eye on Congress are not just competing on policy.

In our social media age, they're using their personal style to attract attention and project their message. Their clothing has become a measure of their 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 standing out on the campaign trail.

Dressing like their state

Some candidates, like Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, who represents Washington's 3rd Congressional District, are 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, 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, running for a Senate seat in the battleground state of Alaska, takes a similar approach.

She made headlines for wearing 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.

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

Patriotism on their sleeves

Other candidates, such as Republican Senate candidate Ashley Hinson of Iowa, have been opting for a bolder, patriotic image.

While polished and conservative, her style of dress has included classic, arguably nostalgic touches, including denim and bandanas for more casual appearances.

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

The look, reminiscent of the style worn by Trump supporters 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, if only for a split second, is crucial.

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

Tie off, cowboy boots on

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 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 of dress has come under fire on more than one front.

It has drawn the disapproval of Trump who has urged voters to focus on his 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 a pricey watch and polo shirt from the luxury hotel chain Four Seasons as a debate about 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.

Personal uniforms

A uniform, if it reads naturally, is an incredibly effective tool, says Friedman, and a great way to be recognised across the country.

It's an approach 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 with patterns.

Ordway remembers that Blackburn "was extremely polished" whenever he spotted her in 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 adopted a consistent look of 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", refers to his outfit choices as "minimal look, maximal politics".

The effect, says Ordway, is reminiscent of a start-up entrepreneur, designed to appeal to an urban, working-class electorate.

It also removes 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."

Trump, master of the image

Friedman notes that the master of this look in the US at the moment is Trump.

His instantly recognisable power suit and red tie, ever-present in film and reality TV, were cultivated even before he moved into 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 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 in.

"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."