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

Political Commentary

Most Recent Releases

June 27, 2025

The Barista Proletariat Wins in New York By Michael Barone

Zohran Mamdani's lead in first choices in New York City's ranked-choice mayoral primary, and his inevitable victory when second, third, fourth and fifth choices of trailing candidates are allocated to candidates voters ranked lower, mean that he'll be the Democratic nominee for mayor of the nation's largest city and the likely winner of the general election in November.

White letter R on blue background
June 26, 2025

Notes on the State of Politics: The Mamdani Upset and a Deeper Look at Virginia By J. Miles Coleman

KEY POINTS FROM THIS ARTICLE

— In New York City, state Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani pulled off an upset in the Democratic primary for mayor, defeating former Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

— One of the things that probably worked against Cuomo was the fact that some of his key constituencies are less likely to be registered to vote in Democratic primaries.

— Turnout in Virginia’s primary last week was slightly higher than what 2021’s primary saw, though there were some important locality-level changes.

— In winning the Democratic primary for lieutenant governor, state Sen. Ghazala Hashmi (D) won most of the state’s congressional districts.

— The close Democratic primary for Attorney General helped illustrate how primary turnout patterns differ from that of general elections.

June 25, 2025

A War on Children? By John Stossel

Before Robby Starbuck became a problem for leftist companies, alerting consumers to stupid woke indoctrination policies, he directed music videos.

June 24, 2025

Secure Borders Win Wars Like This One By Daniel McCarthy

The Iran crisis of the past two weeks isn't just about nuclear weapons -- it's also an urgent reminder that border security is national security.

June 24, 2025

For America to Win the AI Race, Keep Government's Hands Off By Stephen Moore

At the birth of the internet age in the early 1990s, the U.S. and Europe took opposite approaches to advancing this new economy-changing technology.

June 20, 2025

Fast-Changing Events Making, or Remaking, History By Michael Barone

Events are moving fast. Seven days ago, as I write, Israel had not yet launched its first attacks on targets in Iran. Seven days from now, things may well have changed -- significantly.

White letter R on blue background
June 19, 2025

Friends, Neighbors, and Unfriendly Neighbors in Virginia’s Wild Democratic Statewide Primaries By Kyle Kondik and J. Miles Coleman

KEY POINTS FROM THIS ARTICLE

— In a highly competitive Democratic lieutenant gubernatorial primary, state Sen. Ghazala Hashmi (D) was powered by strength in her home turf in greater Richmond, while a very poor showing in the city where he was recently mayor, Richmond, cost Levar Stoney (D) dearly.

— Meanwhile, former state Del. Jay Jones (D) won a narrow victory of his own in the attorney general primary by building on his coalition from his unsuccessful run four years ago.

— Looking ahead to the fall, there is still ticket-splitting among the three statewide elections in Virginia, but that ticket-splitting has generally been on the decline.

— Virginia will also elect all 100 members of the state House of Delegates this fall, where Democrats already hold a narrow majority.

June 18, 2025

Americans Stand Behind President Law and Order By Brian Joondeph

Four years ago, we experienced “The Summer of Love,” specifically protests and riots honoring Saint George Floyd. Civil unrest erupted in 140 cities across 20 states, resulting in over $2 billion in insured losses, with the actual toll likely much higher.

June 18, 2025

The Little Pink House By John Stossel

Is your home your castle?

June 17, 2025

Congress Should Just Say No to a Remittance Tax By Stephen Moore

The House-passed "big, beautiful" tax bill is a tremendous achievement and a giant spark plug for growth. The bill extends all the Trump tax cuts of 2017, thus heading off a $4 trillion tax INCREASE next year. It expands health savings accounts, includes expensing of major capital and research expenditures by businesses, allows more money for school choice, and includes "no tax on tips" and no tax on overtime pay. And that's just for starters.

June 17, 2025

WEIRD Protesters Should Stay Home By Daniel McCarthy

When gray-haired white liberals take to America's streets for "No Kings" protests, the only danger they're exposing themselves to is ridicule.

June 13, 2025

Los Angeles Riots May Encourage Illegal Immigrants to Self-Deport By Michael Barone

"How'm I doin'?" the late New York Mayor Ed Koch used to ask constituents on his travels through the city. President Donald Trump, in the opinion of most Americans, is doin' pretty well.

June 11, 2025

From the Halls of Montezuma to the Streets of Los Angeles By Brian Joondeph

The Marine Hymn is one of the most recognized songs and serves as the oldest service hymn in America. Its opening line honors the famous battles of the U.S. Marines, from Montezuma to Tripoli.

June 11, 2025

The Woke Right By John Stossel

In 2018, some activists, appalled by woke nonsense being published by academic journals, submitted nonsensical research.

One paper claimed researchers "closely and respectfully examined the genitals of ... ten thousand dogs" to learn about "rape culture and queer performativity at urban dog parks."

June 10, 2025

American Intifada By Daniel McCarthy

The riots that kicked off in Los Angeles last weekend aren't just about illegal immigration -- they're part of a revolutionary movement.

June 10, 2025

Why the CBO Almost Always Gets It Wrong By Stephen Moore

These days it seems that a mysterious group called "the CBO" rules the world, or at least Washington, D.C. Unfortunately, it's not very good at predicting things, and its bad calls can lead to bad policy results.

June 6, 2025

The New Politics of Metropole vs. Heartland By Michael Barone

You see the same pattern over much of the world. In three consecutive presidential elections in the United States. In the latest polls in Britain, where the 2016 Brexit referendum was the first notable outbreak. In France's most recent national election and in Germany's. In Canada's election last month. And maybe in Poland and South Korea last weekend.

White letter R on blue background
June 5, 2025

Rating Changes: Iowa Senate, ME-2, and More By J. Miles Coleman and Kyle Kondik

KEY POINTS FROM THIS ARTICLE

— We are making four rating changes this week—one in the Senate and three in the House—with two races getting better for Democrats and two getting better for Republicans.

— The Iowa Senate race moves onto the periphery of the competitive board this week. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) was in the news recently for comments on health care, although the bigger reason for the switch is that she drew a potentially credible Democratic challenger.

— The most notable House change is moving ME-2, the most Republican district held by a Democrat, to Toss-up, and we are also making a couple of other changes to open seats where talented incumbent House members are running for the Senate.

June 4, 2025

The Human Rights Campaign By John Stossel

   Why does Uber make videos where people say, "I'm non-binary or genderqueer"?

June 3, 2025

DEI: The Democrats' Concrete Shoes By Daniel McCarthy

Democrats think they need a Joe Rogan of their own when what they actually need is a Christopher Rufo.