… The fierce tribalism that has characterized debates over immigration, taxes and health care is now coloring policy-making during a coronavirus outbreak that threatens countless lives and local economies across the nation. There are exceptions, but Republican leaders have been far more likely to resist the most aggressive social distancing […] Read more »
Uneven coronavirus spread leads to uneven partisan response
The spread of the coronavirus has not occurred evenly around the country. Urban areas, such as New York City, have been harder hit than rural locales and that difference in impacts follows some of the deep partisan political splits in the country. Democrats and Republicans seem to be experiencing the […] Read more »
The surprising rise of Andrew Cuomo
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s daily coronavirus pandemic press conferences have become must see television. Democrats have been praising them, and some have even floated him as a 2020 presidential contender. The rise of Cuomo shows that times of tragedy can make very unlikely political heroes. It’s not that Cuomo […] Read more »
2020 Election at a Turning Point: Presidential and Senate Battleground Poll
This is a turning point in the 2020 campaign. Vice President Joe Biden leads Donald Trump in the battleground by a healthy margin of 4 points, and 5 in a two-way contest. This is a battleground that Donald Trump painfully won by 1.3 points in 2016, but Senator Bernie Sanders […] Read more »
Turnout in the 2020 Democratic Primary: Some Clues for the Fall
Key Points • With very few exceptions, statewide turnout in the 2020 Democratic primary has been higher than 2016. • Suburban areas have seen some of the sharpest turnout increases — though these areas tend to have higher population growth, they’ve also trended blue in general elections, perhaps a positive […] Read more »
The Cleaner ‘Smoke-Filled Room’
Key Points • In the last 50 years, American political party leaders lost their historical control of the nominations of presidential candidates. • The reduced power held by these expert politicians contributed to Donald Trump’s nomination in 2016, and Democrats in 2020 came close to making a similar choice. • […] Read more »