A year before the next president takes office, voters are skeptical that any of the leading 2016 candidates would make a good president. Moreover, of nine candidates included in the survey, far more voters say each would make a “terrible” than “great” president. CONT. Pew Read more »
Parsing the primary processes
If Democrats and Republicans were holding their national primaries 12 days from now, on Feb. 1, we could predict each party’s nominee with relative confidence. … However, we are not holding a national primary. The system proceeds state by state, over the course of several months, setting up a process […] Read more »
Why 2016 Is Different From All Other Recent Elections
The 2016 Republican primary began as many Republican presidential campaigns do, with a few unexpected names atop the polls. In recent cycles, the names have included Herman Cain, Rick Santorum and Pat Buchanan. This year, they’ve been Donald Trump, Ted Cruz and Ben Carson. What’s made 2016 different is that […] Read more »
These Voters Could Decide GOP Race
GOP presidential leaders Donald Trump and Ted Cruz may have their battle decided by voters at the intersection of their competing strengths: working-class Republicans who are also evangelical Christians. Those blue-collar culturally conservative voters represent a big share of the Republican electorate not only across the south but also in […] Read more »
Countdown to Caucus Day
Two weeks from today, Iowans will gather at caucus sites around the state in the first formal balloting of the 2016 presidential election. As the candidates make their final pitches, voters in the early states will solidify their choices — if they haven’t already — and the rest of us […] Read more »
Can Donald Trump actually be the Republican nominee?
… What was unthinkable a few months ago no longer is. Trump’s durability in national polls and his standing in the early states have forced GOP leaders — and all his rivals — to confront the possibility that the New York billionaire and reality TV star could end up leading […] Read more »