The field of Republican candidates seeking to replace Democratic governor Gavin Newsom in next Tuesday’s recall election in California includes the former mayor of San Diego; a businessman who was the Republican gubernatorial nominee in 2018; a former member of both houses of the state legislature who serves on the […] Read more »
California recall vote offers test of Biden political clout
… With a week to spare, the White House is diving into the California gubernatorial recall election, coming to Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom’s aid with visits from Vice President Kamala Harris and then Biden himself to try to alleviate lingering concerns about Democratic turnout in the unusual September vote. … […] Read more »
How Politics Have Changed Since The Days After 9/11
U.S. politics have changed a lot in the 20 years since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, which defined a generation of American life. In this installment of the FiveThirtyEight Politics podcast, University of California, Riverside, political science professor Jennifer Merolla and Pew Research Center research associate Hannah Hartig reflect on the […] Read more »
Afghanistan won’t doom Democrats in 2022. But it has left a wound.
Afghanistan is a political disaster for the Biden administration. Americans have long wanted the war to end, but they also believe Biden botched the withdrawal: 71 percent of Americans rate his handling of Afghanistan as “only fair” or “poor” while just 27 percent say his performance is “excellent” or “good.” […] Read more »
It’s Still All About COVID
For the last couple of weeks, I’ve been watching focus groups. Two of those groups included independent-leaning voters who don’t align themselves strongly with either party. One other group was comprised of so-called Democratic “surge” voters; people who vote infrequently or only in presidential elections. In other words, these are […] Read more »
Don’t Be So Sure a Supreme Court Backlash Will Boost Democrats
It took about a minute and a half between the Supreme Court’s decision to let a draconian, constitutionally bizarre abortion law take effect and the widespread conclusion that it would prove a boon to Democratic political hopes even as it provoked their moral outrage. … There is plausibility to this […] Read more »