For Democrats, it is unquestionably the case that having a white man on the ballot next November will spur turnout and energy among even infrequent voters. That white man is President Trump, whose unpopularity with members of the opposing party led to midterm turnout that we hadn’t seen in a […] Read more »
2020 Democrats have one mission: Sink battleship Biden
Every candidate for the Democratic nomination for president (save one) knows what they need to do: knock former vice president Joe Biden out of the race. Biden himself knows he’s the battleship everyone else needs to sink. He expects the torpedoes. But will anyone launch them? Attacking Biden is necessary, […] Read more »
Five issue positions that could blow up a Democratic campaign
So far this election cycle five issues have arisen that could blow up a Democratic candidate for president, a Democratic candidate for dog-catcher and everyone in between. The only exceptions are those Democratic candidates who live in Vermont or who live in the 17 congressional districts (approximately 4 percent of […] Read more »
How Abortion Could Threaten GOP Control of the Senate
Sometimes party control of a legislative chamber shouldn’t logically be in danger given the political fundamentals. But circumstances can and do change. … There was a time when the decisions to set up court tests of abortion laws were made carefully by antiabortion lawyers and strategists on the national level, […] Read more »
Democrats and the Enthusiasm Gap
Democrats are in something of a Catch-22. There is a consensus (at least among the chattering class and highly engaged Democratic voters) that the party needs to pick a nominee who is the most electable, even if this person is not the most exciting or ground-breaking pick (i.e., a white, […] Read more »
Has Trump’s Anti-Rural Agenda Handed Democrats an Opening in Red America?
President Trump’s feckless trade war is bludgeoning the bottom line of the Republican Party’s reliable rural base. But the party’s disregard for the economic interests of its own constituents goes well beyond barriers to Chinese markets. Small towns and rural areas, along with some Rust Belt metros, are falling ever […] Read more »