We’ve been thinking about elections backward. “The ballot belongs to the voter, not the government,” said Phil Keisling, the former secretary of state of Oregon. “As long as it can be done with safety and integrity, it’s the obligation of the government to get it to me. It’s not my […] Read more »
Democrats are betting big on big plans for 2020
Go big or go home might be the new motto for the Democrats’ sprawling cast of 2020 presidential contenders. At a moment when the country remains closely divided between the two major political parties, the 2020 Democrats are rushing to propose expansive and expensive proposals that envision massive change in […] Read more »
The Untapped Power of Rural Voters
… Republicans have long courted rural voters. Democrats need to do a better job at that. To win in 2020, the eventual Democratic nominee needs to increase the Democrats’ share of rural votes and not cede them to Republicans. This is within reach. From 2012 to 2016, Democrats lost 11 […] Read more »
Politicians Draw Clear Lines on Abortion. Their Parties Are Not So Unified.
Abortion is often cast as a clear, crisp issue in Washington and in state governments, with Republican and Democrats clustered in opposite corners. Joe Biden moved nearer to the rest of his party’s presidential contenders on Thursday when he dropped his support of a measure restricting use of federal funds […] Read more »
Republicans and the 2020 Election
We wanted to share some important trends we are seeing in regards to 2020 turnout, improving numbers for the Republican party’s image, new work we are doing about political ideology, as well as highlight some of the challenges facing Republican candidates this cycle. We also focus on some elements of […] Read more »
Should Washington, D.C., Be The 51st State?
In recent months, Democrats have stepped up their push to make Washington, D.C., a state. They’ve introduced statehood bills in both the House and Senate, and next month, the House will have its first hearing on the issue in 26 years. In this installment of the FiveThirtyEight Politics podcast, Nate […] Read more »