The issue of gerrymandering — the ability of politicians to draw legislative districts to benefit their own party — burst into view as a major political issue in 2018. Even as voters and courts vigorously rejected the practice this year, politicians in some states are doing their best to remain […] Read more »
For Bernie Sanders, Holding Onto Support May Be Hard in a 2020 Bid
… Mr. Sanders may have been the runner-up in the last Democratic primary, but instead of expanding his nucleus of support, in the fashion of most repeat candidates, the Vermont senator is struggling to retain even what he garnered two years ago, when he was far less of a political […] Read more »
Liberal Democrats seem to be looking for new national faces
… Who will emerge as the favorite among Democrats: an establishment candidate, like Hillary Clinton; or a progressive alternative, like Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)? Will the 2020 contest again result in a near-even draw between those two sides? More important, who will Democrats nominate? What’s remarkable about a new USA […] Read more »
The Healthcare Vote That Republicans Missed in the Midterms
Now that a federal judge has sided with 20 states to strike down the 2010 Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare) as unconstitutional, the political effects of the healthcare issue have returned to center stage. Even before that Dec. 14 decision, however, voters in the 2018 midterm elections were […] Read more »
A Survey Finds That All Americans Favor Democratic Norms Over Politics—Except in the Case of Voting
The Bright Line Watch team is at it again, exploring the resilience of democratic norms in America, as the Trump Presidency, entering its third year, seems ever more cavalier about them. … This time around, the team has issued a report on a new survey called “Party, Policy, Democracy and […] Read more »
With Outsize Influence, Black Voters Are Ready to Make Themselves Heard
… The first votes of the Democratic presidential primary remain more than a year away, but black voters are keenly aware of the prominent role they will play in choosing the next nominee. In 2016, Mr. Sanders’s “political revolution” flamed out with black voters, and Hillary Clinton fell short of […] Read more »