There’s a long list of factors that ultimately decide elections, from candidates to issues, but the electoral terrain ranks near the top. Looking at the 2016 presidential race, three types of counties and three big questions about them will be crucial. CONT. Dante Chinni, Wall Street Journal Read more »
Romney Had Problems With Conservatives. Jeb’s May Be Worse
Jeb Bush may have a lot of advantages as the 2016 race begins – money, name recognition, a network of supporters. But Mr. Bush has a problem with conservatives. How bad is it? Compare his standing to that of 2012 Republican nominee Mitt Romney, who famously struggled to win over […] Read more »
The Mystery of the Missing Evangelicals
Republicans haven’t won the presidency for two cycles now — and, for many party faithful, a perceived lack of support among evangelical voters is to blame. … The missing evangelical vote has been cited as a key factor by 2016 GOP hopefuls such as Sen. Ted Cruz and former tech […] Read more »
Ted Cruz Says Obama Won Because Evangelicals Stayed Home. Is That True?
Texas Senator Ted Cruz gave his audience at Liberty University on Monday one concrete-sounding reason why he could win the presidency. Too many evangelical Christians, he said, were “staying home” and handing presidential elections to Democrats. … This isn’t just one senator’s theory. The fear that evangelical voters are staying […] Read more »
Religion in Politics: A Look at Data From the New American Values Atlas
On Wednesday, the Public Religion Research Institute released its new American Values Atlas. It is full of information regarding the American public’s religious identity, political views on hot-button issues such as abortion and immigration, and demographic information for regions, states, and major metropolitan areas. This atlas should prove to be […] Read more »
Where ‘American Sniper’ Most Dominates Facebook Chatter
… As tens of millions of Americans get set to tune into the 87th Academy Awards on Sunday night, data from Facebook mapped by The Wall Street Journal find remarkable splits on which films are generating conversation across the country — and people’s tastes, in many ways, follow the familiar […] Read more »