Could a "Ford Nation" style coalition ever take off in the US?

[King of Kensington]

One notable and I think quite important aspect of the Ford phenomenon in Toronto is the lack of a municipal party system.  Most of Fords' strongest areas in municipal elections were areas where the Conservative Party is quite weak.  And when Doug Ford went into provincial politics, Ford Nation votes didn't necessarily translate into Conservative votes since voting explicitly for the Conservatives was a leap too far for many.  Of the 10 provincial constituencies that Doug Ford carried municipally in 2014 in this election, 4 went to the NDP or Liberals and two more were won with less than 40% of the vote, due to vote-splitting between the NDP and Liberals. 

I think the Republican Party is just too toxic among nonwhites, and racial polarization is just too strong in a lot of the US for a Ford-like phenomenon to take off.  I can't imagine "white ethnics" and Blacks voting together for a conservative backlash candidate in a city like NYC, Chicago or Philadelphia.

[King of Kensington]

I'd argue the 2013 NJ election was the successful implementation of a "Ford Nation" strategy led by Chris Christie.

Most paid attention to Christie's huge margin, which was partly a product of weak opposition. But they also won the popular vote for the State Senate. Flip about 3,000 votes statewide and they retake the Senate, potentially establishing a new model for Republicans in suburban states. They ran on a solid platform that won back a lot of the Bush-Reagan coalition while adjusting for modern demographics, picking up a lot of Asian-American and Hispanic votes.

How did Christie do with the state's large Indian American population?

[King of Kensington]

The Chris Christie coalition looks more like Stephen Harper than Ford Nation.

[King of Kensington]

How did the Harper and Ford coalitions differ again?

Ford Nation was more downscale than the Harper coalition.

[King of Kensington]

Since I'm sucked in now, are there any good books on Ford Nation (the coalition, not the show) or any of the campaigns?

Crazy Town by Toronto Star reporter Robyn Doolittle.

[King of Kensington]

Has there ever been a conservative populist mayor that won both Black and "white ethnic" support anywhere in the US?

[King of Kensington]

Bloomberg the patrician billionaire is such a contrast to Ford Nation it's not even funny.

The Bloomberg coalition is similar, I suspect, to the John Tory coalition in Toronto (quite upscale).

[King of Kensington]

Probably not, no. Even moderately conservative mayors of major cities are typically either extremely fiscal conservatives relying on suburban support (e.g. Richard Riordan) or populists with no black support (e.g. Rudy Giuliani).

The only Republican I know who won the black vote was Tom Kean, and he did so in a 70% statewide landslide. Republicans typically do not win black votes anywhere, even in urban settings. Urban coalitions are built around picking up as many non-black votes as possible.

Is there any significant white working class in L.A. at all?

[King of Kensington]

Probably not, no. Even moderately conservative mayors of major cities are typically either extremely fiscal conservatives relying on suburban support (e.g. Richard Riordan) or populists with no black support (e.g. Rudy Giuliani).

The only Republican I know who won the black vote was Tom Kean, and he did so in a 70% statewide landslide. Republicans typically do not win black votes anywhere, even in urban settings. Urban coalitions are built around picking up as many non-black votes as possible.

Is there any significant white working class in L.A. at all?

http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-kaplan-inglewood-gentrification-20171126-story.html
https://www.citylab.com/equity/2013/01/class-divided-cities-los-angeles-edition/4296/

LA doesn’t seem to have much of a traditional working-class, period.

That's an extremely narrow definition of working class.  NYC and Chicago wouldn't have much of one either.

NYC and Chicago still have "white ethnic" working class neighborhoods, but L.A.'s white population was traditionally dominated by Protestants with Midwestern and "Okie" roots.  I doubt there's any holdouts of them in L.A. proper.