Partisanship and Deficit Spending

… In the midst of this fearsome economic environment, the Trump Administration has succeeded in navigating an unprecedented $2.3 Trillion stimulus package through a divided Congress, ensuring basic protections for businesses and workers harmed by the crisis. … This swift, united action by Republicans in Congress suggests that they feared […] Read more »

Rating Changes: Democrats edge slightly ahead, but presidential race still a toss-up

Key Points • We are not dramatically revising our outlook for the presidential election, at least not yet. • That said, several rating changes in the Electoral College and Senate generally benefit Democrats. • Many governors are getting high marks for their responses to the crisis; even for those elected […] Read more »

How Will Biden Choose His Running Mate?

There will likely be months of debate over who presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden should pick as his running mate — and what criteria he should use in making that decision. We already know one such criterion: Biden has pledged to choose a woman. But what else is he looking […] Read more »

Why Trump’s approval bump isn’t helping him against Joe Biden

… Of course, most Democrats disapprove of Trump but his current net approval rating is better than it was in December before the coronavirus first emerged. This helps make sense of a puzzle: Why has Trump’s approval bump not helped him in his probable November matchup again former vice president […] Read more »

Coronavirus is dividing blue cities from their red states

The struggle to contain the coronavirus pandemic is opening a new front in the long-running conflict between blue cities and red states. Across a wide array of states with Republican governors, many of the largest cities and counties — most of them led by Democrats — are moving aggressively to […] Read more »