Alabama Democrat Doug Jones demonstrated last year that candidates matter and that on the rarest occasions — such as when the majority party’s nominee is accused of sexual misconduct by many women — voters in federal races veer from their partisan loyalties. But Jones’s win was the exception, not the […] Read more »
How 2018 reframed the Democrats’ biggest choice for 2020
Though the 2018 election opened intriguing opportunities in the Sun Belt, new data suggest the shortest path back to the White House for Democrats may be through the three Rust Belt swing states that President Donald Trump dislodged from the “blue wall” two years ago. The party will have to […] Read more »
Most Americans feel positive about record number of women in Congress
There will be a record number of women in the 116th Congress, and 67 percent of Americans feel positive about that, including about 4 in 10 who are excited about it. Most of the women who will join Congress in January are Democrats, and the poll finds Democrats are especially […] Read more »
The Extraordinary 2018 Election in Colorado
This post-election survey of unaffiliated voters, along with observations of voter turnout in Colorado, can only be described as extraordinary. It was extraordinary because in the past 20 years never has one political party been so overwhelmingly rejected at every level of representative government by the electorate. It was extraordinary […] Read more »
The Psychology of Political Polarization
Many stories can be told about the 2018 midterm elections, but their mixed results make one thing clear: We are a country divided. Pundits have attributed our historically high levels of polarization to a variety of sources, including the isolating effects of social media, the corrupting influence of dark money […] Read more »
Public Expects Gridlock, Deeper Divisions With Changed Political Landscape
… And after years of growing political divisions in Congress and the nation, the public expects little improvement in relations between Republicans and Democrats in Washington in the coming year. Most expect partisan relations will get worse or stay the same. Just 9% expect that partisan relations will improve. The […] Read more »