The decisive role of black voters in the 2020 Democratic primary

Key Points• Black voters are a crucial voting bloc in the upcoming Democratic primary season, particularly in the South.• White candidates with proven bona fides among black voters can compete for the black vote, even against other black candidates, as Joe Biden is showing (at least for now).• The differing […] Read more »

Today’s voter suppression in the South can trace a line back to the Jim Crow laws and lynchings of the 19th and 20th centuries

The question of who votes is central to democratic politics. For obvious reasons, political parties want their supporters to show up on Election Day, which is why many spend significant time and resources on get out the vote operations. Just as obviously, it helps a party if more of their […] Read more »

White Women Are Helping States Pass Abortion Restrictions

It’s common for critics of the new wave of state laws severely limiting access to abortion to say the measures are part of a Republican “war on women.” But strong support from most white women, especially those who identify as evangelical Christians, has helped Republicans dominate local government in the […] Read more »

Democrats’ Two Roads to Beating Trump

Two distinct paths are emerging for Democrats to beat Donald Trump in 2020, each presenting different challenges—and perhaps demanding a different kind of nominee. The paths are through the Rust Belt and Sun Belt battlegrounds, which both parties consider most likely to decide the next presidential contest. New state-level polling […] Read more »