For Democrats, and for Republicans, a summer of discontent

This has been a rough week for Republicans and for Democrats. As the long August recess begins, these are not happy times for either political party. The Democratic presidential candidates put on two nights of debating in Detroit, producing maximum internal bickering and negativity and minimal positive or outward messaging […] Read more »

The Post-Debate State Of The Primary

In a live taping of the FiveThirtyEight Politics podcast in downtown Detroit, the crew discusses key takeaways from the second Democratic primary debate. And the team competes in a 2020 Democratic presidential draft, debating which candidates are most likely to win the nomination. Plus, Robert Yoon of Inside Elections joins […] Read more »

More Debates, More Problems?

These last two nights in Detroit are a reminder of why those who have been involved in party politics and campaigns for a long time hate primary debates. They are the political equivalent of public family therapy. Disagreements, pent-up frustrations, and long-held grudges are out on display for the whole […] Read more »

When did Barack Obama become a Republican?

When did Barack Obama become a Republican? I’m asking because, according to some folks on the debate stage in Detroit, support for policy positions like the public option, comprehensive immigration reform and trade agreements are now dismissed as “Republican talking points.” The same applies to asking practical questions about how […] Read more »

Republicans Watch Fractious Democratic Debates and Like What They See

After two nights of debates between 20 presidential hopefuls that exposed a wide rift between the Democratic Party’s progressive and centrist wings, President Trump’s allies and Republican strategists said Thursday that they had gotten largely what they wanted: Five hours of a nationally televised clash where Democrats themselves questioned the […] Read more »