WASHINGTON — Two weeks ago, Democratic voters in three states nominated a trio of attention-grabbing Senate candidates: a Black man who disavows moderate policies, a towering, tattooed lieutenant governor who insists on wearing shorts, and a Black woman who spent her career in the judiciary.
The choices could signal a bigger change coming for Democrats.
A party once accustomed to nominating mostly white, straight-laced men to run in major Senate races is taking a markedly different approach this year, backing candidates across the electoral map with different profiles than their predecessors. It’s a tack more inclusive of women, African Americans and unconventional politicians — the type party leaders and voters alike once feared were unelectable in competitive states.
