The issues that have worked for Democrats around the country this election season—affordability and working-class stability chief among them—also worked for Taylor Rehmet, a union president and machinist who beat his Trump-backed opponent for a deep-red state Senate seat in the Fort Worth area of Texas last weekend. But his platform included something more unusual and a little retro: a promise to return vocational education to public high schools.

Rehmet, 33, is the son of blue-collar Republicans: His father was an airplane mechanic, and his mother was a hairdresser. He has said he plans to expand vocational education as part of an effort at “rebuilding the pipeline between schools and good-paying jobs,” and made it part of his pro–working class pitch. “No matter what party you’re in, if you work hard and focus on the issues—such as lowering costs, health care, and really focusing on working people—that’s how you’ll get people to show up and vote,” he said on ABC News Live after his victory.

The focus comes at a time when Republicans are paying lip service to American workers while dismantling public education, the economy, and pro-worker laws. At the same time, more and more American families are anxious about their economic future and how to maintain stable careers that will survive the next technological revolution. Talking about vocational training—now commonly referred to as career and technical education, or CTE—may hit the sweet spot for many voters. It’s a message other Democrats could pick up.

“CTE enrollment is up almost 10 percent over the last........

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