Tommy Sowers, a Missouri Democratic congressional candidate, might have stumbled upon the winning formula for derailing Republican incumbent Jo Ann Emerson's reelection bid. For the Iraq War veteran's latest campaign video, he appropriates nearly every red-state cultural touchstone (including close-ups of his "combat Bible" and a background shot of his pickup) to distance himself from DC Democrats and burnish his heartland credentials.

The liberal media, for their part, believe it's a smart move. The New Republic's Jonathan Chait notes that Sowers is running "a genuine populist campaign, combining right-wing social affinity with left-wing anti-corporate economics," bundling together issues that poll well. Politico's Jonathan Martin thinks that Sowers's video gives a blueprint that Democratic hopefuls would be wise to follow when "run[ning] against a GOP hopeful in red America."

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Erik Hayden