During the past four decades, the two major political parties have steadily moved farther away from each other and are now as deeply divided as they have been for more than a century. For most of this period, analysts agree, Republican elected officials have moved more to the right than […] Read more »
What Does Threat to Democracy Mean To Swing Voters?
On the eve of the midterm elections last fall, President Biden delivered a speech in which he argued that the central issue for 2022 was the threat to our democracy. Many pundits, and even some high-profile Democrats, criticized Biden’s messaging. After all, poll after poll showed that the economy and […] Read more »
How Republicans view their party and key issues facing the country as the 118th Congress begins
Republicans now hold a narrow majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, the first time they have controlled the chamber in four years. The GOP’s first weeks in power have been marked by drama – most notably by Kevin McCarthy’s protracted, 15-ballot victory to become House speaker. As the new […] Read more »
What’s going to happen in Washington over the next 2 years? Americans don’t expect much.
Call them realistic: Americans are braced for little compromise and less action in Washington over the next two years of divided government. The messy fight by Republicans to elect a new House speaker left the public convinced by 61%-17% that the GOP and President Joe Biden are less likely to […] Read more »
Democrats’ Identification as Liberal Now 54%, a New High
After hovering near 50% in recent years, the percentage of Democrats who identify as politically liberal rose four percentage points in 2022 to 54%, a new high for this group. At the same time, the 10% describing themselves as conservative is the lowest to date. … Republicans’ ideology did not […] Read more »
Meet the Republicans Who Are Facing Down the Hard Right
… On Tuesday, McCarthy won House approval, in a party-line, 221 to 211, vote, to create a Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, with Jim Jordan, one of the most outspoken supporters of Trump and the MAGA movement in Congress, as its chairman. It’s possible, although not […] Read more »