If Republican business executive Glenn Youngkin prevails over former Democratic governor Terry McAuliffe in Virginia’s gubernatorial election Tuesday, his stance on public education may be partially responsible. Polls have suggested that Youngkin built momentum among White suburban swing voters by addressing an issue that is not typically front and center […] Read more »
Who Will Show Up To Vote Next Year?
One significant piece of conventional wisdom that got turned on its head in 2020 was that higher turnout — especially among voters of color in states like Texas, Floria and Nevada — would solely benefit Democrats. Instead, many of these new voters, often younger and not typically engaged in politics, […] Read more »
Why ‘Evangelical’ Is Becoming Another Word for ‘Republican’
The conventional wisdom about religion in the United States is that the number of people who have no religious affiliation is rising rapidly. … That’s why a recent report from the Pew Research Center came as a huge surprise. Its most shocking revelation was that, between 2016 and 2020, there […] Read more »
The Evangelical Church Is Breaking Apart
… The aggressive, disruptive, and unforgiving mindset that characterizes so much of our politics has found a home in many American churches. As a person of the Christian faith who has spent most of my adult life attending evangelical churches, I wanted to understand the splintering of churches, communities, and […] Read more »
Racing Apart: Partisan Shifts on Racial Attitudes Over the Last Decade
… The 2020 election took place amid a remarkable shift in attitudes about issues related to racial, ethnic, religious, and national identities. After decades of relative stasis in racial attitudes, Democrats and independents became dramatically more liberal on these issues. This leftward shift was already underway as of the 2016 […] Read more »
In Virginia, Republicans see education, curriculum fears as a path to victory
… Schools have long been a top issue in gubernatorial campaigns. And education has frequently been the battlefield of American culture wars, from war protests to classroom prayer. But thanks to frustration over pandemic school closings, a national push by conservatives to resist a wave of race-focused curriculum changes and […] Read more »