… A slim majority of Americans, 51 percent, believe that controlling gun ownership is more important than protecting the right of Americans to own firearms, according to the latest United Technologies/National Journal Congressional Connection Poll. But beneath that divided topline were far more telling cleavages. The survey showed that the […] Read more »
After a Highly Partisan Election Year, Survey Finds Less Group Conflict
After a divisive presidential campaign that focused on such polarizing issues as economic class and immigration, a new Pew Research survey finds that the American public perceives less conflict between groups at the center of these debates now than before the campaign began. [cont.] Rich Morin & Seth Motel, Pew Read more »
Shrinking California Child Population Signals Major Changes for State
An unprecedented decline in California’s child population, coupled with a tidal wave of Baby Boom retirees, will pose significant challenges for the state’s future prosperity, according to an analysis of census data released today by the USC Price School of Public Policy and the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health. […] Read more »
The Emerging Democratic Presidential Majority: Lessons of Obama’s Victory
In this paper I examine the fundamental factors that shaped the 2012 presidential campaign and ultimately produced a fairly close but decisive victory for Barack Obama. I argue that the voting patterns seen in 2012 both at the state level and at the individual level reflected an increasingly partisan and […] Read more »
The 2012 Election: What Happened, What Changed, What it Means
In the fall of 2011, Barack Obama’s prospects for reelection did not appear bright. After the failure of his “grand bargain” talks with House Speaker John Boehner, his approval rating plunged to a new low. Economic growth was mediocre, unemployment remained stubbornly high, and the public’s confidence in the future […] Read more »
The Growing Electoral Clout of Blacks Is Driven by Turnout, Not Demographics
Blacks voted at a higher rate this year than other minority groups and for the first time in history may also have voted at a higher rate than whites, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of census data, election day exit poll data and vote totals from selected cities […] Read more »