The 2018 elections marked a notable increase in the influence of ideological media over both major American parties. Conservative media sources, led by Fox News Channel, further solidified their power within the Republican Party, main-taining their traditional role of informing and mobilizing Republican voters while extending their reach to become […] Read more »
Are Democrats Dominated by the Left? Don’t Be So Sure.
From much of the media coverage these days, you would think that the undisputed leaders of the Democratic Party are freshman Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez and—of course—Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, even though the constituents that elected them are limited to the 14th District of New York and the states […] Read more »
Trump Is Driving Out Precious Republican Voters
Ever since Donald Trump’s upset victory over Hillary Clinton in 2016, much of the media attention has been on how Democrats need to reconsider their strategy for winning voters in future elections, particularly Obama-to-Trump voters. But the results of the 2018 midterm elections suggest that Republicans have some soul-searching to […] Read more »
Stacey Abrams, Andrew Gillum and the choices for Democrats in 2020
Stacey Abrams and Andrew Gillum represent case studies in the new politics of America and give voice to a discussion inside the Democratic Party about how to win the presidency in 2020. The questions are these: What kind of candidate and what kind of campaign would give Democrats the best […] Read more »
Why Fears of Fake News Are Overhyped
After the shock of the 2016 presidential election, many Americans found psychological refuge in a simple explanation for why Donald Trump won: “fake news.” False or misleading information published by dubious for-profit websites had spread widely on Facebook, reaching millions of people in the final months of the campaign. This […] Read more »
The Year of the Green Wave
Running a political campaign, even for a House seat, can take a lot of money. This is especially true if the district happens to be competitive, and this cycle saw extremely high spending and engaged donors, especially on the Democratic side. Thanks to data compiled from the Federal Election Commission […] Read more »