… After an initial burst of support, Biden has seen his approval ratings fall significantly in recent months. A Washington Post average of polls since the start of September shows 44 percent of Americans approve of Biden’s job approval, while 49 percent disapprove. And polls suggest support for Biden has […] Read more »
Mask wars preview the 2022 battle for the Sun Belt
The fierce political struggles erupting across the Sun Belt this summer over mask mandates and other public health precautions against Covid-19 point toward epic governors’ races next year that will test how much the political balance of power has changed in the rapidly growing states at the epicenter of the […] Read more »
Redistricting in America, Part Three: The Republicans’ Southern Prizes
Key Points• Democrats tried but failed to get a seat at the redistricting table in four large Southern states in the 2018 and 2020 cycles: Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and Texas.• The consequences for redistricting are vitally important. It’s easy to imagine Republicans squeezing a half-dozen extra seats out of […] Read more »
Why MLB’s decision to move its All-Star Game was surprising
Major League Baseball’s decision to move its 2021 All-Star Game from Georgia after the state changed its voting laws is not an unprecedented move. Other major sports leagues and players have been fighting Republican politicians in this era. What makes MLB’s move different is that it’s not known as a […] Read more »
Georgia’s Election Law, and Why Turnout Isn’t Easy to Turn Off
There’s nothing unusual about exaggeration in politics. But when it comes to the debate over voting rights, something more than exaggeration is going on. There’s a real — and bipartisan — misunderstanding about whether making it easier or harder to vote, especially by mail, has a significant effect on turnout […] Read more »
Why Republican voter restrictions are a race against time
With their drive to erect new obstacles to voting, particularly across the Sun Belt, Republicans are stacking sandbags against a rising tide of demographic change. In many of the states where Republicans are advancing the most severe restrictions — including Georgia, Arizona and Texas — shifts in the electorate’s composition […] Read more »