Biden, unions and the politics of 2020

Shortly after former Vice President Joe Biden announced his candidacy for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, he received his first union endorsement. “I couldn’t be more proud to have the International Association of Fire Fighters on my team,” Biden tweeted in response. “Unions built the middle class in this country […] Read more »

Citizens feel disconnected from government. If they knew what government did for them, they wouldn’t.

Suzanne Mettler is the John L. Senior Professor of American Institutions in the department of government at Cornell University. She is also the author of a new book, “The Government-Citizen Disconnect,” which argues that citizens are often unaware of the benefits they receive from the government. I spoke to her […] Read more »

Only 1 in 3 Young People Say They’re Certain to Vote in Midterms

A new PRRI/The Atlantic survey on civic engagement finds stark gaps between young and older Americans’ attitudes towards the utility of voting and other methods of civic engagement. The survey, the second in a series of reports assessing challenges to America’s democratic institutions and practices from PRRI and The Atlantic, […] Read more »

Gallup podcast: McCain, Mueller, midterms and more

President Donald Trump often refers to polls, but just how accurate are his tweets about them? What will have a larger effect on midterm election outcomes — presidential approval or economic confidence? How many Democrats react positively when they hear the word “socialism”? Frank Newport and Gallup Senior Editor Lydia […] Read more »

Where the public stands on key issues that could come before the Supreme Court

The Senate Judiciary Committee is set to begin confirmation hearings on Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court. If confirmed, Kavanaugh would replace Justice Anthony Kennedy, who retired in July after three decades on the court. … Ahead of the Senate’s deliberations over Kavanaugh, here’s a look at where […] Read more »

Labor Union Approval Steady at 15-Year High

Sixty-two percent of Americans approve of labor unions today, which is consistent with the 61% who approved last year and up from 56% in 2016. … Current support for unions is fairly high across U.S. society, with majorities of all major gender, age, education and geographic groups approving. At the […] Read more »