The political jockeying over the nomination of the next Supreme Court justice is underway. The FiveThirtyEight Politics podcast team discusses how politicians are reacting and what the court will look like if, as seems likely, Chief Justice John Roberts winds up in the ideological middle. The team also checks in […] Read more »
A bad week for Democrats gives rise to a big problem: Outrage could become an obstacle in midterms
Growing liberal agitation over a pivotal Supreme Court retirement and a simmering crisis of migrant child separation have left Democratic leaders scrambling to keep the political outrage they’d counted on to fuel midterm election wins from becoming a liability for the party. Internal party debates have broken into public view […] Read more »
Bernie Sanders-backed nominees score wins, but in longshot races
In the wake of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s surprising Democratic Primary win in New York’s 14th congressional district, much of the talk this political week has centered on the rising power of the party’s liberal wing. But a look at the House primary results from the first half of 2018, shows a […] Read more »
As Trump Consolidates Power, Democrats Confront a Rebellion in Their Ranks
The pitched battle looming over the Supreme Court, along with a jolt to the Democratic leadership at the ballot box last Tuesday, is threatening to shatter the already fragile architecture of the Democratic Party, as an activist rebellion on the left and a lurch to the right in Washington propels […] Read more »
The midterm elections shape up as a battle over intensity. Are Democrats ready?
The November election could be about many things. Immigration. Tax cuts and the economy. The Supreme Court and the future of abortion rights. Trade and tariffs. The menu changes with the cascading of events. Ultimately, the midterms will be about intensity. On that factor, Democrats ought not to underestimate President […] Read more »
Nobody knows how ‘abolish ICE’ plays politically
On Thursday night, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) called for the elimination of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE. By Friday morning, Republican campaign groups were asking whether Democrats who had taken money from Gillibrand — a number of female candidates in swing races — would echo the senator or denounce […] Read more »