When New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez shocked the political world by unseating a 10-term incumbent in a Democratic primary in 2018, some analysts believed the victory might foreshadow a party shift to progressivism. But three years later, the evidence for the great turn leftward is scant. In fact, looking at […] Read more »
Virus surge sends ripples of alarm through Democrats
The resurgence of the coronavirus has reshaped the early contours of the midterm elections, with some Democrats beginning to distance themselves from the Biden administration and more directly blame Republicans, reflecting their growing alarm on an issue that long played to their political advantage. Democrats had hoped to pivot from […] Read more »
The rise and fall of American confidence in its institutions
A conversation with Mohamed Younis, Gallup editor-in-chief. Here & There with Dave Marash The OPINION TODAY email newsletter is a concise daily rundown of significant new poll results and insightful analysis. It’s FREE. Sign up here: opiniontoday.substack Read more »
Does Biden Understand Contemporary Politics?
With rare exceptions, Joe Biden throughout his presidency has stressed his determination to cooperate with the GOP whenever possible and has minimized his personal confrontations with Republican leaders on both the national and state levels. That strategy has yielded the tangible benefit of the big bipartisan infrastructure bill now marching […] Read more »
The Real Reason Why the Party in Power Struggles in the Midterms
A shorthand explanation for midterm elections has long been that they are “referenda on the incumbent president.” The theory postulates that the party of the White House has lost House seats in 36 out of 39 midterms since the Civil War and Senate seats in 19 out of 26 midterms […] Read more »
Redistricting in America, Part Three: The Republicans’ Southern Prizes
Key Points• Democrats tried but failed to get a seat at the redistricting table in four large Southern states in the 2018 and 2020 cycles: Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and Texas.• The consequences for redistricting are vitally important. It’s easy to imagine Republicans squeezing a half-dozen extra seats out of […] Read more »