Connections

A call for Democrats to move to the middle

By Evan Dawson,

Megan Mack, Julie Williams

Published March 4, 2026 at 5:09 PM EST

A man with short grey hair is leaning on a conference table and wearing a navy blazer, light blue button-down shirt and grey pants. — Matt Bennett

Third Way — an organization that seeks to identify common ground across voting groups — has a warning for Democrats.

The group has compiled a list of words and phrases that turn off independent voters. Third Way says Democrats need to move away from academic speak and focus on winning back the middle.

Our guest:

Matt Bennett, executive vice president for public affairs for Third Way

Connections

Evan Dawson

Evan Dawson is the host of "Connections with Evan Dawson." He joined WXXI in January 2014 after working at 13WHAM-TV, where he served as morning news anchor. He was hired as a reporter for 13WHAM-TV in 2003 before being promoted to anchor in 2007.

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Megan Mack

Megan Mack is the executive producer of "Connections with Evan Dawson" and live/televised engagement programming.

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Julie Williams

Julie Williams is an associate producer for "Connections with Evan Dawson." She started at WXXI in 2019 and has been working on Connections since 2022.

See stories by Julie Williams