Former vice president Joe Biden, once the clear leader in the Democratic Party’s nominating contest, finally has a primary victory worthy of that descriptor. Perhaps unexpectedly, it came in the cycle’s fourth contest. Expectedly, though, it came in the first state to vote where most of the voters are black. […] Read more »
Personal popularity, large black electorate throw Biden a lifeline in South Carolina
Personal popularity, a large black electorate, fewer liberals and a fondness for Obama-era policies threw a lifeline to former Vice President Joe Biden in South Carolina — while preliminary exit poll results found Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders lagging in favorability and perceived sensitivity to racial issues alike. In handing Biden […] Read more »
Aging, Rising, Brainy, Booming: Super Tuesday Economies Pose Wider Test
The first few contests in the Democratic presidential primary race have been fought in states that are small and somewhat quirky economically. There aren’t many states where voters care as much about ethanol subsidies as they do in Iowa, or where culinary unions wield as much power as in Nevada. […] Read more »
How to un-break the primaries
Many people in both major parties have soured on the presidential primary system. … From a historical perspective, the story of presidential primaries has largely been about the rise of voter power and the falling clout of party insiders; both parties still struggle with striking the right balance between those […] Read more »
Voters Who’ll Support Biden — But Not Sanders — Probably Really Do Mean It
… For the last 12 years, I’ve overseen a long-running panel survey of Americans’ political attitudes that sheds light on how their political views have evolved, and one of the questions I’ve consistently asked is who panelists would back in a general election. And as of our most recent survey […] Read more »
Five myths about elections
The way Americans pick their leaders, in high-stakes elections where candidates battle to distinguish themselves from one another, can feel nasty, fierce, aggressive and even desperate. In a democratic republic, that’s exactly as it should be. But the process is also plagued by myths and errors about how the system […] Read more »