Data brokers that quietly gather billions of pieces of data on Americans should be required to operate more openly, so that those categorized as “financially challenged” or possibly suffering from serious medical conditions have the ability to check and challenge those characterizations, a federal report said Tuesday. The data broker […] Read more »
Democrats Seek Issue to Buoy Turnout in Midterms
With Tuesday’s primaries reinforcing the strength of the Republican establishment, House Democrats are reassessing their electoral strategy based on a major internal research project that shows their candidates stand a better chance when they portray Republicans as unsympathetic to the economic situation of working Americans while protecting the wealthy. The […] Read more »
Persuading voters plays a role
For several weeks I’ve been exploring an argument increasingly heard in the press and some political circles: Persuasion is wasted effort, at least in a midterm race; increasing turnout is the only way to win. A future column will bring it all together, but here I’ll focus on the impact […] Read more »
The Known Unknowns
… Ultimately, the two sides are counting on two very different things happening this fall. Republicans are counting on the national political environment to sweep the GOP to victory. … Democrats, meanwhile, are counting on making this an “all politics is local” election. … So, who’s right? No one can […] Read more »
Turnout alone won’t mean a win
Last week I began discussing, some might say attacking, a meme heard with increasing frequency: Persuasion is a waste, it’s all about turnout. … I argued that while mobilization remains vitally important, putting all of one’s chips on that number would mean certain defeat for Democrats. In competitive states and […] Read more »
Democrats, uncurb your enthusiasm
… The Democrats’ core problem in recent congressional elections has been simple: Their voters don’t show up. … Overcoming that gap is the great challenge for Democrats this year, which is why they’ve launched an audacious strategy that, if it works, could change the way future congressional campaigns are waged. […] Read more »