As Americans wake up to a divided Congress, pollsters breathe a sigh of relief

THE MORNING AFTER THE MIDTERMS, journalists are working through the complicated picture that emerged from yesterday’s elections. With Democrats gaining in some states and Republicans in others, the results defied easy generalization. As Cook Political Report National Editor and sometime WNYC host Amy Walter tweeted, the midterms have turned out […] Read more »

Two Electorates, Two Outcomes

It’s rare that both parties can celebrate after an election, but that’s exactly the situation after Republicans gained a handful of Senate seats and Democrats picked up over 30 House seats Tuesday night. Conservatives, white men (particularly those without a college degree) and pro-Trump voters backed GOP nominees, while women […] Read more »

Tuesday Showed the Drawbacks of Trump’s Electoral Bargain

On Tuesday, a divided America returned a divided verdict on the tumultuous first two years of Donald Trump’s presidency. Rather than delivering a “blue wave” or a “red wall,” the election produced a much more divergent result than usual in a midterm. … The evening amounted to a simultaneous repudiation […] Read more »

Public Opinion Strategies Election Night Survey – Key Findings

The most positive voter election day mood in more than a decade (42% Right Direction), two-thirds (65%) satisfied with the economy and Trump approval at 46% all mitigated what could have been a Blue Wave yesterday. Instead, voters gave the country a split-decision, giving Democrats a narrower than expected margin […] Read more »

Negative on Trump, divided on issues, voters reshuffle the cards in Washington

A divided outcome fit a divided nation in the 2018 midterms, with the House flipping Democratic, the Senate staying Republican and the voters sharply split on partisan, ideological and demographic lines. The focus of the election, Donald Trump, came in where he’s been since taking office: underwater in job approval, […] Read more »