What explains the increasing demand for populist parties? Why do some individulas are more likely to vote for such parties, but not others? We show that the answer lies not only in some individual’s economic or cultural charateristics, as commonly assumed, but also in the ways voters tell their national story. National stories and the relational linkages they draw between the nation and out-groups powerfully shape voter behavior. Data from original representative election surveys conducted between 2012 and 2016 in Denmark, the Netherlands, the United States and the United Kingdom are subjected to multiple correspondence analysis (MCA), which reveals voting patterns that are highly structured by national stories. Further analysis, in which we estimate multivariate vote choice models, reveals that voters who hold stories incorporating survival past and confrontational future are more likely to vote for populist parties. These findings hold across our four cases. We conclude by suggesting that narrative approaches can be a valuable approach to study populism, both theoretically and empirically.