Ryan is proud of his family’s background; it’s one of the reasons he is so frustrated by losing those voters to Republican candidates.

“We are the party that is going to help working-class people, and yet no one got that message,” he said, noting that people of every color, gender and sexual orientation are all part of that coalition.

“We didn’t tell them in a meaningful way that we have a plan to grow their wages or instill economic security for them or their communities. When we don’t talk about economic security, we lose elections.”

The people who live here are deeply connected to their roots and traditions; many still aspire to work with their hands as their ancestors did before them.