There is a debate underway within the Democratic Party over what kind of candidate can beat Donald Trump in 2020. A centrist candidate will attract moderate Republican voters, but perhaps demobilize young, minority, college-educated Democrats. A more exciting, perhaps more radical candidate, will mobilize Democrats but scare away moderate Republicans. […] Read more »
Where I Think The Candidates Stand After The Second Debate
I’m writing this on Thursday morning, before there’s much, if any, polling available that reflects how Democrats’ preferences changed following the two-night presidential debate this week. But even before the debate, some candidates had been on the move in the three weeks since my last comprehensive assessment of the Democratic […] Read more »
Channeling My Psychic Energy From Last Night’s Debate: The Key Takeaways
Beware the instant pundit analyses that declares “winners” and “losers.” … As my adage goes, there is the debate you saw, and then there’s the debate the pundits would have you believe you saw. Take everything your read on social media with a huge barrel of salt – many analysts […] Read more »
Biden’s Rivals Helped Him More Than He Helped Himself
After two nights of spirited debate in Detroit, many Democrats may be feeling anxious: Their 2020 frontrunner didn’t entirely mollify concerns about his political skills, and his three major rivals positioned themselves in ways that could leave the party vulnerable in the general election. … Biden’s mixed performance yesterday highlighted […] Read more »
Trump: Running behind approval?
A big part of the reason why Donald Trump won the presidency in 2016 was that he captured a not-insignificant percentage of voters who did not necessarily like him but chose him anyway over Hillary Clinton. Only 38% of the electorate reported having a favorable opinion of him, according to […] Read more »
The second Democratic debate: Opening up the centrist lane
Ever since the 2018 election, the storyline around the Democratic Party has been at odds with the facts. The Democratic Party is, as it has been for many decades now, a center-left party and not a left-wing party in the style of European political parties. In the first Democratic debates […] Read more »