Welcome to Political Outliers, a column that explores groups of Americans who are often portrayed as all voting the same way. In today’s climate, it’s easy to focus on how a group identifies politically, but that’s never the full story. Blocs of voters are rarely uniform in their beliefs, which is why this column will […]
Author: Alex Samuels
The Culture Wars Couldn’t Stop Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Confirmation
Everything’s part of the culture wars now, including Supreme Court confirmations. Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation process ended on Thursday when the Senate voted 53-47 to confirm her to the court, and it was quick — it took just six weeks to move from nomination to confirmation — and partisan. Many Republicans spent Jackson’s nomination hearings […]
Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Nomination May Not Be Enough To Turn Out Black Voters For Democrats
It was a promise Joe Biden made during a low point in his presidential campaign, after he lost both the Iowa caucus and the New Hampshire primary. Just days before the South Carolina primary, when Black voters would effectively hand him the Democratic nomination, Biden said at the end of a debate that if he […]
How White Victimhood Fuels Republican Politics
On Nov. 4, 2008, Barack Obama, then a senator from Illinois, was elected the first Black president of the United States. His election was seen as a hopeful moment in America and ushered in lots of think pieces and reporting that his presidency was the start of a new “post-racial” society. At long last — […]
Americans Are Still Unsure How The U.S. Should Respond To The Invasion Of Ukraine
Welcome to Pollapalooza, our weekly polling roundup. The ongoing war in Ukraine appears to have Americans in a bind: While roughly half of U.S. adults want to impose some type of punishment on or sanction against the Russian government for waging a war on Ukraine, another chunk of the country thinks it’s best for President […]
How To Watch Texas’s Primaries Like A Pro
Texas has found itself making headlines pretty frequently these days. Last fall, it dominated much of the news cycle with back-to-back stories about the state’s heavily gerrymandered congressional map, coupled with a stringent abortion law. And, just last week, the governor made headlines after he announced an order that would effectively penalize people who provide […]
Democrats Have Been Souring On Biden Since Last Summer
In a moment of deep political gloom, having faith in any politician might feel like a dangerous game. But starting with President Biden’s victory in the 2020 election and continuing into his first months in office, polls showed that Democrats were starting to feel more hopeful. Vaccinations for COVID-19 began to roll out en masse. […]
Confidence Interval: Will Biden’s Supreme Court Pick Motivate Republican Voters More Than Democrats?
It’s time for another episode of Confidence Interval, where we share a hot take we’ve been hearing … and then reveal how confident we really feel about the idea. This time, politics reporter Alex Samuels examines why President Biden’s Supreme Court nom…
Democrats Helped Build The Social Safety Net. Why Are Many Now Against Expanding It?
Today’s Democrats fancy themselves as the party that trusts the evidence — wherever it might lead. This is why they invest heavily in science and technology and set up arms of government to translate that knowledge into action. But despite claiming to prioritize new ways of improving our society, Democrats don’t always act in ways […]
What’s It Like Being A Democrat In Trump Country?
Welcome to Political Outliers, a column that explores groups of Americans who are often portrayed as all voting the same way. In today’s climate, it’s easy to focus on how a group identifies politically, but that’s never the full story. Blocs of voters are rarely uniform in their beliefs, which is why this column will […]