… Almost halfway through Donald Trump’s tempestuous first term, Democrats are divided between two visions of how they can dislodge the Republican dominance of Washington and most state governments. One camp believes the party’s best chance will come from targeting mostly white, Republican-leaning voters who are recoiling from Trump on […] Read more »
Why some polls may be underestimating Democrats
Republicans dominated the midterm elections in 2010 and 2014 in part because voters who supported Barack Obama in presidential years voted for Republicans or stayed home when he wasn’t on the ballot. The turnout advantage Republicans enjoyed during the Obama years may no longer exist as we head into 2018, […] Read more »
Justice delayed: The Supreme Court is often behind the country
With Justice Anthony Kennedy’s retirement from the Supreme Court, the America of 1950 is now positioned to write the legal rules for the America of 2050. That may slightly overstate the likely longevity of the five-member conservative Supreme Court majority that will lock into place if and when the Senate […] Read more »
A bad week for Democrats gives rise to a big problem: Outrage could become an obstacle in midterms
Growing liberal agitation over a pivotal Supreme Court retirement and a simmering crisis of migrant child separation have left Democratic leaders scrambling to keep the political outrage they’d counted on to fuel midterm election wins from becoming a liability for the party. Internal party debates have broken into public view […] Read more »
The midterm elections shape up as a battle over intensity. Are Democrats ready?
The November election could be about many things. Immigration. Tax cuts and the economy. The Supreme Court and the future of abortion rights. Trade and tariffs. The menu changes with the cascading of events. Ultimately, the midterms will be about intensity. On that factor, Democrats ought not to underestimate President […] Read more »
Nobody knows how ‘abolish ICE’ plays politically
On Thursday night, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) called for the elimination of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE. By Friday morning, Republican campaign groups were asking whether Democrats who had taken money from Gillibrand — a number of female candidates in swing races — would echo the senator or denounce […] Read more »