If it's in the News, it's in our Polls. Public opinion polling since 2003.

Political Commentary

Most Recent Releases

December 6, 2024

Politics of Economic Redistribution, RIP By Michael Barone

Whatever happened to the Democrats' reputation as the party favoring the working man? Put another way, what happened to the Democrats as the party promising economic redistribution from the rich to the average man?

White letter R on blue background
December 5, 2024

The End of the Line for Red State Senate Democrats By Kyle Kondik

KEY POINTS FROM THIS ARTICLE

— As part of capturing the Senate this year, Republicans knocked out the final remaining Democratic senators from a group of 20 states that have consistently voted Republican for president since at least the 2000 election.

— A quarter-century ago, Democrats held nearly a third of the Senate seats from these 20 states. But that tally was down to just 2 leading into this election, and Republican victories in Montana and West Virginia reduced it to 0.

— Additionally, 5 other states backed a Democratic presidential candidate at least once this century but voted for Donald Trump in all 3 of his elections. Republicans now hold all of the Senate seats in these states as well.

— In total, these 25 states hold half the Senate seats. Realistically, Democrats can’t win future Senate majorities without making at least some inroads back into this now fully Republican bloc of states.

December 4, 2024

Stone Age Ports By John Stossel

Some union leaders are self-destructive idiots.

December 3, 2024

What’s the Mood of America Post-Election? By Brian C. Joondeph

Election 2024 is almost a month behind us. President-elect Donald Trump has selected his Cabinet, while some states are still finishing counting their ballots.

December 3, 2024

Identity Politics, Not Biden, Cost Democrats the Election By Daniel McCarthy

With his presidency ending in a few weeks, Joe Biden's legacy is only getting messier.

December 3, 2024

Trump Should Call for a New American Patriotism By Stephen Moore

        Hard to believe it was just four years ago that Joe Biden was elected with a promise to unite the country. After the misery of COVID-19 deaths and lockdowns and the riots in the streets of major cities, Americans WANTED to be united by a unifying national purpose.

November 29, 2024

The Groups and Barista Proletariat of the Democratic Party By Michael Barone

Postmortems of the Democratic Party's loss, running well beyond the defeat of Vice President Kamala Harris and Gov. Tim Walz (D-Minn.), are starting to come in from some of the party's most perceptive thinkers.

November 27, 2024

Thank You, Property Rights! By John Stossel

As we gather this Thanksgiving, it's easy to take abundance for granted.

November 27, 2024

Yes Nukes! By Stephen Moore

One thing Hollywood is very good at is scaring the bejesus out of Americans -- even when they're merely spreading false fears.

November 26, 2024

Trump Draws the Map to 2028 By Daniel McCarthy

As they carve their turkeys this year, Republicans can be grateful for Donald Trump, mapmaker.

November 22, 2024

Trump Gains Among Nonwhite People: Historical Precedent and Possible Harbinger By Michael Barone

Did anyone expect, when they heard the candidate's announcement at the base of the Trump Tower escalator in June 2015, that nine years later, he would be elected to a second term with sharp increases in Republican percentages from nonwhite people -- Latinos especially, but also Black and Asian people?

White letter R on blue background
November 22, 2024

How Virginia Illustrates the 2024 Election By J. Miles Coleman

KEY POINTS FROM THIS ARTICLE

— Kamala Harris carried Virginia by close to 6 points this month. This was worse than Joe Biden’s 10-point showing in the state, although it was slightly better than Hillary Clinton’s performance, even as the latter had a Virginian (Sen. Tim Kaine) on her ticket.

— Much of the state’s movement to Donald Trump can be attributed to a pronounced rightward shift in heavily Democratic Northern Virginia.

— Though she lost ground overall, Harris held on to some of Joe Biden’s 2020 gains in many of the state’s more marginal localities.

— Though it was not a Toss-up state, in some ways, such as its internal swing and voting rhythms, Virginia was in sync with the nation as a whole.

White letter R on blue background
November 21, 2024

The 2024 Senate Undervote: Not High By Historical Standards By Kyle Kondik

KEY POINTS FROM THIS ARTICLE

— After the election, many took note of some seemingly unusual patterns in the presidential and Senate voting. Some winning Democrats in states that voted for Donald Trump, for instance, received fewer total votes than Kamala Harris, but still won while Harris lost.

— Some voters likely cast votes just in the presidential race, meaning that there were fewer votes cast in a state’s Senate contest compared to its presidential contest.

— However, there is nothing unusual about this compared to recent history. Senate races almost always have fewer votes cast than presidential races in presidential years.

— In fact, the average size of the Senate “undervote” this year was smaller than many other recent cycles.

— The third party vote was generally larger in key Senate races than in the presidential race, which likely also contributed to the outcomes in certain states. But a higher third-party vote for Senate is also not unusual—it was a feature of some of 2020’s closest Senate races, too.

November 20, 2024

Destructive Environmentalists By John Stossel

People eagerly give money to rich environmental groups. The Natural Resources Defense Council has $463 million in assets.

November 20, 2024

Breaking Up Google Will Be a Great American Catastrophe By Stephen Moore

Earlier this year, in one of the most absurd court rulings in modern times, federal judge Amit Mehta ruled that Google violated U.S. antitrust law by gaining a monopoly in the search engine markets.

November 19, 2024

Why Democrats Are Losing Tomorrow's Elections Today By Daniel McCarthy

America is outgrowing the Democratic Party.

November 15, 2024

The Democratic Gerontocracy Forgets the Lessons of Its Youth and Maturity By Michael Barone

Here's another way to look at why Republicans swept the 2024 elections: It's the fault, only partly, of course, of the gerontocracy of the Democratic Party. Going back through history, it's hard to find a time when a party's leadership was so far along in years. The founder presidents retired in their mid-sixties. Andrew Jackson retired at 69, Abraham Lincoln was murdered at 56, and Ulysses S. Grant retired at 54. Theodore Roosevelt died at age 60, Franklin Roosevelt at 63.

White letter R on blue background
November 14, 2024

The State-Level Differences Between the Presidential and Senate Races By J. Miles Coleman

KEY POINTS FROM THIS ARTICLE

— Split outcomes between presidential and Senate results saw a resurgence in 2024, as at least four Donald Trump-won states sent Democrats to the Senate.

— Republicans still took the majority in the Senate because while Sens. Jon Tester (D-MT) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) performed notably better than Kamala Harris, they did not do so by enough to hold their seats.

— Across most key Senate races, Senate Democrats ran better than Harris in rural parts of their states but were comparatively weak in some suburban counties.

— In one of Harris’s best states, Maryland, former Gov. Larry Hogan (R-MD) stood out as Republicans’ top overperformer, although Harris’s 26-point margin in the state was too much for him to overcome.

November 14, 2024

How Did the Polls Perform? Winners and Losers By Brian C. Joondeph

Election 2024 is in the rearview mirror. Pollsters won’t be bombarding voters with phone or email polls. Today’s entertainment is liberal heads exploding on social media or the latest Democrat threatening but not actually following through on everything from drinking cyanide to setting themselves on fire or leaving the country if Donald Trump won the election.

November 13, 2024

Kids Need Freedom By John Stossel

I often report on fake "crises" pushed by media.