Much of the energy, a lot of the passion and most of the headlines in American politics focus on the extreme right and the far left. Armed with sweeping theories, sharp-edged rhetoric and unwavering certainty, progressives and democratic socialists on the left and MAGA loyalists on the right dominate our political discourse.

Their high-decibel proclamations and denunciations help explain why so many Americans are furious about the nation’s politics and depressed about its future.

We need more problem-solving centrists, such as Illinois U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski, to get the country back on track.

“The extremes of both parties are one of the biggest challenges the country is facing. Most people are in the middle,” Budzinski told me. “There is a hunger for government that actually works for people. There is a hunger for leaders that focus on practical, common-sense solutions that make life a little less challenging for working people.”

Centrists’ language may not be soaring, and their platforms may not claim to usher in new eras in American economic and political life, but they are working to solve problems and convince constituents that government can take positive steps to help their lives.

Budzinski was born in Peoria and takes pride in her working-class roots. One grandfather was a union painter; her grandmother was a public school teacher. The congresswoman’s career has been molded by organized labor and the Democratic Party. She studied history and political........

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