The Greater Wisconsin Primary—votes on April 7, results on April 13—served as a petri dish to study what election might look like if government officials can’t agree in time for November about how to flex longstanding election rules to ensure integrity in elections while guarding public health. The results show […] Read more »
The Cultural Realignment of State White Electorates in the 21st Century
At the turn of the 21st century, West Virginians were among the most Democratic state white electorates. Their level of Democratic partisanship was in the top five (along with Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Hawaii) and they ranked above the median state white electorate in terms of Democratic presidential voting. […] Read more »
Americans Are Skeptical Of The Government — Except When There’s A Crisis
… Americans traditionally voice a lot of skepticism about the government, but political scientists Chanita Intawan and Stephen P. Nicholson find that the public also has an implicit trust in authority figures, which can be activated in times of crisis. … That may seem like an opening for permanently advancing […] Read more »
Trump Has a Gut Feeling About What Covid-19 Means for 2020
Evidence of President Trump’s mishandling of the current Covid-19 emergency has been building steadily. Most recently, The Washington Post on April 4 (“The U.S. was beset by denial and dysfunction as the coronavirus raged”) and The Times on April 11 (“He Could Have Seen What Was Coming: Behind Trump’s Failure […] Read more »
Bernie Sanders Only Had Eyes for One Wing of the Democratic Party
… On Wednesday, Sanders finally capitulated to political reality and withdrew from the race. In doing so, he claimed that “Few would deny that over the course of the past five years our movement has won the ideological struggle.” But is that true? The fact is that a decisive majority […] Read more »
Media Coverage Doesn’t Actually Determine Public Opinion On The Economy
… In a country as large and diverse as the U.S., how do citizens know whether the economy is doing better or worse? One obvious source of information is the news media. In fact, some political scientists have found that negative news coverage of the economy can shape public opinion, […] Read more »