The geographic and demographic separation between the two political parties, and the two Americas, has reached a new peak in the House of Representatives. In the 116th Congress sworn in last week, Republicans and Democrats now control districts that represent virtual mirror images of each other across a wide range […] Read more »
Secret campaign to use Russian-inspired tactics in 2017 Alabama election stirs anxiety for Democrats
A secret effort to influence the 2017 Senate election in Alabama used tactics inspired by Russian disinformation teams, including the creation of fake accounts to deliver misleading messages on Facebook to hundreds of thousands of voters to help elect Democrat Doug Jones in the deeply red state, according to a […] Read more »
Inside the House GOP more closely mirrors Trump’s mold
This week a new Democratic majority arrived in the House of Representatives promising to change Washington. But along with it came a new Republican minority that is made much more in the image of President Donald Trump. The 2018 midterms may have shifted power in Washington, but they also deepened […] Read more »
Donald Trump is less popular than Nancy Pelosi for the first time during his presidency
… The leading figures in the US government right now are not popular. For the first time during Trump’s presidency, though, Trump is more disliked than Pelosi. Pelosi has become more popular since the Democrats won in November. Her net favorability rating rose in Gallup’s polling from -24 points in […] Read more »
Women who ran for Congress avoided women’s issues in their campaign ads
Screenshot of ‘Elaine Luria for Congress: Sea Change.’ YouTube Shawn Parry-Giles, University of Maryland; Aya Hussein Farhat, University of Maryland; Matthew Salzano, University of Maryland, and Skye de Saint Felix, University of Maryland A record number of women were sworn into Congress on Jan. 3. The influx of women candidates […] Read more »
House Republicans came back from being written off before. They can again
Through much of 2018 and especially in the weeks following the midterm elections, many opinion writers and other political pundits enthusiastically declared the Republican Party dead or at least relegated to life support. The commentary was eerily reminiscent of the post-2006 declarations that the GOP was finished … over … […] Read more »