The results of the 2020 election continue the pattern of recent decades, in which the political parties have been both narrowly divided numerically and deeply divided ideologically—the worst combination for governing in a constitutional republic with divided powers. If the parties are divided deeply but not numerically—as they were during […] Read more »
An Early Test for Biden: Managing a Divided Democratic Party
Ever since President Trump won the White House in 2016, a shocked Democratic Party had been united behind the mission of defeating him. Four years later, with the election of Joseph R. Biden Jr., the divides that have long simmered among Democrats are now beginning to burst into the open, […] Read more »
Joe Biden won a race another Democrat may have lost
President-elect Joe Biden made the pitch that he was the most electable Democrat during the primary season. It was a big reason why primary voters ultimately nominated him. A look at the still compiling returns demonstrates that Democrats made the right bet. Biden is projected to win an election that […] Read more »
Georgia’s political shift – a tale of urban and suburban change
Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator David Perdue wanted to avoid a runoff. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images Jan Nijman, Georgia State University Over the past 36 years, the state of Georgia has voted for Republican presidential candidates in every cycle except 1992, when voters backed Bill Clinton. In the past 20 years, it […] Read more »
Those Obama-Trump Counties
Though Joe Biden eked out a victory this week, it wasn’t because of the many former Democratic strongholds that unexpectedly swung for Trump in 2016. Of the 206 counties that voted for Obama in both 2008 and 2012 but then went for Trump in 2016, nearly all of them—186 as […] Read more »
The First Question for Democrats to Answer About the Election: What Happened?
… The first step in any political inquest is to figure out exactly what happened. The Democrats’ struggles in local and statewide races will take more time to unpack, but there are data already available about the race at the top of the ticket that can offer some insight into […] Read more »