Political Commentary

Most Recent Releases

September 18, 2025Midway to the Midterm: The Imperfect Bellwethers of New Jersey and Virginia By Kyle Kondik
KEY POINTS FROM THIS ARTICLE— It will be very tempting to use the New Jersey and Virginia gubernatorial races as predictors for next year’s midterms.
— Sometimes these races do provide a preview of the following year, but there are enough instances where they do not that we would urge caution against overinterpreting the results.
— One key factor is that the political situation could just be different in the midterm year than it is in the gubernatorial year, something we arguably saw as recently as 2021 and 2022, the most recent comparable cycle.
— Another confounding factor is that New Jersey and Virginia are both more Democratic than the nation at the federal level, which was not consistently the case until recently.

                    <img src="https://www.rasmussenreports.com/var/plain/storage/images/_aliases/wide_266/public_content/political_commentary/commentary_by_brian_joondeph/americans_see_political_rhetoric_fueling_violence_and_they_re_reacting/1808896-1-eng-US/americans_see_political_rhetoric_fueling_violence_and_they_re_reacting.jpg" />
                
                            September 18, 2025Americans See Political Rhetoric Fueling Violence – And They’re Reacting By Brian Joondeph
A series of polls conducted after Charlie Kirk’s assassination reveal a sobering truth. Most Americans now believe that the way our leaders and pundits discuss politics is not only divisive but also genuinely dangerous.

                    <img src="https://www.rasmussenreports.com/var/plain/storage/images/_aliases/wide_266/public_content/political_commentary/commentary_by_john_stossel/phones_versus_play/1808856-2-eng-US/phones_versus_play.jpg" />
                
                            September 17, 2025Phones Versus Play By John Stossel
   When I was a kid, childhood meant playing on the street, riding my bike, hanging out with friends.

                    <img src="https://www.rasmussenreports.com/var/plain/storage/images/_aliases/wide_266/public_content/political_commentary/commentary_by_stephen_moore/another_tax_revolt_may_be_right_around_the_corner/1808708-1-eng-US/another_tax_revolt_may_be_right_around_the_corner.jpg" />
                
                            September 16, 2025Another Tax Revolt May Be Right Around the Corner By Stephen Moore
        Anyone old enough to have lived through the mayhem and economic decline of the 1970s probably will recall the tax cut heard round the world. That was the famous California ballot initiative Proposition 13, which slashed property taxes by more than 25% and then screwed a tight cap on future rate increases.

                    <img src="https://www.rasmussenreports.com/var/plain/storage/images/_aliases/wide_266/public_content/political_commentary/commentary_by_daniel_mccarthy/britain_s_populist_moment/1808651-1-eng-US/britain_s_populist_moment.jpg" />
                
                            September 16, 2025Britain's Populist Moment By Daniel McCarthy
   Is Great Britain on the brink of a Trump revolution?

                    <img src="https://www.rasmussenreports.com/var/plain/storage/images/_aliases/wide_266/public_content/political_commentary/commentary_by_michael_barone/recovering_from_the_insanity_of_summer_2020/1808406-1-eng-US/recovering_from_the_insanity_of_summer_2020.jpg" />
                
                            September 12, 2025Recovering From the Insanity of Summer 2020 By Michael Barone
        What a difference half a decade makes. This summer's prevailing ethos, zeitgeist, vibe -- call it any fancy name you want -- was sharply different from the summer, just five years ago, of COVID-19 and Black Lives Matter.

                    <img src="https://www.rasmussenreports.com/var/plain/storage/images/_aliases/wide_266/public_content/political_commentary/commentary_by_brian_joondeph/why_so_many_young_voters_are_turning_radical/1808352-1-eng-US/why_so_many_young_voters_are_turning_radical.jpg" />
                
                            September 11, 2025Why So Many Young Voters Are Turning Radical By Brian Joondeph
Rasmussen Report’s new survey of voters under 40 paints a stark picture. Most believe the economy is unfair to them, and a majority would even support a law to confiscate Americans’ “excess wealth” (second homes, luxury cars, boats) to help young people buy a first home. Fifty-five percent endorse that idea, but just 38% oppose it. Only 29% of individuals under 40 are homeowners, and many feel “stuck,” lonely, or in crisis. 
September 11, 2025State Supreme Courts: Retention Elections in PA, an Open Seat in WI, and Much More By Louis Jacobson
KEY POINTS FROM THIS ARTICLE— In most cases, state supreme court elections get little attention, but they can have important impacts on policy.
— There will be one state with closely watched state supreme court elections in 2025: Pennsylvania. Then, in 2026, elections are currently scheduled for 31 states, although that number could change depending on retirements or deaths.
— In addition to the 2025 races in Pennsylvania, the 2026 contests likely to attract attention are in Michigan, Montana, North Carolina, Ohio, Wisconsin, and possibly Alabama and Kentucky.

                    <img src="https://www.rasmussenreports.com/var/plain/storage/images/_aliases/wide_266/public_content/political_commentary/commentary_by_stephen_moore/stop_the_irs_s_stealth_700_billion_tax_increase/1808173-1-eng-US/stop_the_irs_s_stealth_700_billion_tax_increase.jpg" />
                
                            September 10, 2025Stop the IRS's Stealth $700 Billion Tax Increase By Stephen Moore
        President Donald Trump has done an admirable job at defanging the IRS, which was converted into a weaponized agency targeting Democrats' political enemies.

                    <img src="https://www.rasmussenreports.com/var/plain/storage/images/_aliases/wide_266/public_content/political_commentary/commentary_by_john_stossel/wasted_land/1808156-1-eng-US/wasted_land.jpg" />
                
                            September 10, 2025Wasted Land By John Stossel
        The federal government owns about a third of America.

                    <img src="https://www.rasmussenreports.com/var/plain/storage/images/_aliases/wide_266/public_content/political_commentary/commentary_by_daniel_mccarthy/who_s_accountable_for_autopen_pardons/1808119-1-eng-US/who_s_accountable_for_autopen_pardons.jpg" />
                
                            September 9, 2025Who's Accountable for Autopen Pardons? By Daniel McCarthy
        There are too many politicians in America today who think a man like Decarlos Brown belongs on the streets and not behind bars or in a padded cell.

                    <img src="https://www.rasmussenreports.com/var/plain/storage/images/_aliases/wide_266/public_content/political_commentary/commentary_by_michael_barone/britain_land_of_the_unfree/1807890-1-eng-US/britain_land_of_the_unfree.jpg" />
                
                            September 5, 2025Britain, Land of the Unfree By Michael Barone
        When the Irish comedian Graham Linehan arrived at London Heathrow Airport this past weekend, he was greeted by five armed British police officers who arrested him for -- get this -- three rude tweets.

                    <img src="https://www.rasmussenreports.com/var/plain/storage/images/_aliases/wide_266/public_content/political_commentary/commentary_by_brian_joondeph/minimum_wage_hikes_compassion_or_economic_folly/1807870-1-eng-US/minimum_wage_hikes_compassion_or_economic_folly.jpg" />
                
                            September 4, 2025Minimum Wage Hikes – Compassion or Economic Folly? By Brian Joondeph
A new Rasmussen Reports survey reveals that 40% of Americans now believe the minimum wage should be at least $15 an hour, up from 36% a year ago. That’s a strong sentiment. After all, who doesn’t want working Americans to earn more? But compassion and sound economics are two very different things.
September 4, 2025The 2025-2026 Gubernatorial Races: Rating Changes in Virginia, Iowa, and Maine By Kyle Kondik and J. Miles Coleman
KEY POINTS FROM THIS ARTICLE— As the post-Labor Day sprint to the November gubernatorial races begins, we are upgrading Democrats in Virginia, moving that race to Likely Democratic. New Jersey remains as Leans Democratic.
— For the 2026 races, open seats in Iowa and Maine get more competitive in our ratings.
— Republicans should be able to easily win a new seat in Missouri as the result of a new proposed gerrymander, the latest development in the fast-moving redistricting wars.

                    <img src="https://www.rasmussenreports.com/var/plain/storage/images/_aliases/wide_266/public_content/political_commentary/commentary_by_john_stossel/moral_panic/1807767-1-eng-US/moral_panic.jpg" />
                
                            September 3, 2025Moral Panic? By John Stossel
        "Mental health is declining," says psychologist Jonathan Haidt. 

                    <img src="https://www.rasmussenreports.com/var/plain/storage/images/_aliases/wide_266/public_content/political_commentary/commentary_by_stephen_moore/trump_s_share_the_wealth_retirement_plan_will_help_all_americans/1807444-1-eng-US/trump_s_share_the_wealth_retirement_plan_will_help_all_americans.jpg" />
                
                            September 2, 2025Trump's Share-the-Wealth Retirement Plan Will Help All Americans By Stephen Moore
        The Elizabeth Warrens of the world have long complained about how the rules in Washington and on Wall Street are rigged in favor of the rich.

                    <img src="https://www.rasmussenreports.com/var/plain/storage/images/_aliases/wide_266/public_content/political_commentary/commentary_by_michael_barone/governance_by_threat_not_constitutional_order/1807283-1-eng-US/governance_by_threat_not_constitutional_order.jpg" />
                
                            August 29, 2025Governance by Threat, Not Constitutional Order  By Michael Barone
        The Constitution of the United States lays out a complex scheme of governance that has mostly worked for the 237 years since it became effective with the ratification of the ninth state, New Hampshire, in 1788.
August 28, 2025Notes on the State of Politics: Iowa Special Elections, Utah Redistricting By J. Miles Coleman
KEY POINTS FROM THIS ARTICLE— In Iowa, Democrats continued to rack up special election overperformances by flipping a Trump-won state Senate seat that is based in Sioux City.
— Democrats have broken the GOP’s supermajority in the state Senate, although Republicans still hold comfortable majorities in both chambers of the legislature.
— A judge threw out Utah’s current House map, a GOP gerrymander, ruling that it does not fit with the guidelines set by a 2018 voter-approved state ballot issue.
— A fairer map of Utah would probably have one blue seat and three red ones, instead of four red ones, though Utah Republicans may try to delay a new map’s implementation.

                    <img src="https://www.rasmussenreports.com/var/plain/storage/images/_aliases/wide_266/public_content/political_commentary/commentary_by_john_stossel/who_will_protect_the_kids/1807021-1-eng-US/who_will_protect_the_kids.jpg" />
                
                            August 27, 2025Who Will Protect the Kids? By John Stossel
        Some parents abuse their kids.

                    <img src="https://www.rasmussenreports.com/var/plain/storage/images/_aliases/wide_266/public_content/political_commentary/commentary_by_stephen_moore/europe_is_dying_are_we_next/1806967-1-eng-US/europe_is_dying_are_we_next.jpg" />
                
                            August 26, 2025Europe Is Dying -- Are We Next? By Stephen Moore
        Let's start with a very simple truism: You can't have prosperity without people.