If you care about whether the Democratic Party can rebuild itself anytime soon out of the smoking wreckage left behind by the disastrous 2016 elections, something very important is happening a lot sooner than you think. There are more than three dozen gubernatorial races taking place in the next two […] Read more »
The Divided States of America
Reading the nonstop coverage of what may well be a close presidential election, one might be forgiven for thinking that political competition is alive and well in America. But look at the majority of states and congressional races, and a different picture emerges: In most places, meaningful two-party electoral competition […] Read more »
How A Trump Debacle Could Affect The House And State Legislatures
Republicans are worried that Donald Trump, losing badly to Hillary Clinton, is dragging down the party’s candidates for Congress and state legislatures with him. Sens. Kelly Ayotte in New Hampshire, Richard Burr in North Carolina and Pat Toomey in Pennsylvania — once considered favorites for re-election — are now in […] Read more »
How Low Can the G.O.P. Go?
As Donald Trump’s campaign continues to spiral, a crucial question arises: How much collateral damage could he inflict on the Republican Party? If recent patterns in straight-ticket voting hold and Trump’s campaign continues to falter, Trump could carry a host of Republican down-ballot candidates with him to defeat. CONT. Thomas […] Read more »
Stands on social issues tear at the two main conservative bases
The ideological rifts breaking apart the Republican Party have moved into the states, where business leaders and evangelicals who have long coexisted in the GOP are suddenly at war over social issues such as gay rights and religious freedom. … Rather than unifying around a message and strategy to win […] Read more »
A one-party state without the rancor
It is ironic that California, home of the far-right John Birch Society and such liberal bastions as Berkeley and Santa Monica, is drifting to the political center, even as national politics is lurching both left and right. It remains to be seen, however, whether this is another instance of the […] Read more »