After Republicans won only 48 percent of all votes cast for the House in 2012 but 54 percent of the seats, it’s no secret that the party enjoys the huge built-in structural advantages in the chamber that Democrats had going for them decades ago. … But could the Republicans’ arguably […] Read more »
How the demographic shift could hurt Democrats, too
Since the November election, in which President Obama won huge majorities among minority voters, it’s been taken as gospel that the Republican Party must, for its own survival, seek to appeal to those groups by moving to the left on topics such as immigration reform. But as the nation becomes […] Read more »
What Unites Obama’s Coalition — and What Could Divide It
One conclusion that jumps from the Pew Research Center/USA Today national survey released today is that the coalition that reelected President Obama last fall remains in step behind him — and is largely unified behind the key elements of his increasingly aggressive second-term agenda. But the poll also suggests that […] Read more »
GOP needs younger candidates
… My own polling in open-seat contests often asks about age as a component of candidate image. Looking at the confluence of those data, I am convinced that most people want their newly elected representatives to be in the prime of their lives, between 35 and 55, not in their […] Read more »
Seniors lean Republican, young people more Democratic, right? Not so much
Republicans have a problem with young people 18-29. Democrats have a problem with seniors over 65. The story taken from this dichotomy is popular and simple enough: Republicans are the party of crusty old folks who are going to die, and Democrats are the party of the youth, who will […] Read more »
Courting the Twenty-Somethings
President Obama this week delivered a split-level State of the Union address. On one level, he sought to frame the legislative competition with the GOP for the next year. On the other, he sought to reframe the electoral competition with Republicans for the next decade and beyond. That’s the front […] Read more »