Welcome to the Winston Group, a strategic consulting and research firm in Washington, D.C. Our site offers in-depth analysis on key policy issues that inform decision-makers and industry leaders. Explore our site content that includes political and election analysis, insights into policy issues, inflation trends, and videos. We invite you to return often for timely, data-driven perspectives.

Roll Call: The Electorate’s Inflation Report Card: Three Factors To Watch

President Donald Trump has given his grade an “A-plus-plus-plus-plus-plus” grade to his economy. In today’s Roll Call, The Winston Group’s David Winston writes about what voters will be looking at to determine the president’s success on the economy. So, what goes into the voters’ report card as they head into next year’s election? And what have we seen recently that is driving the grade they give him and his congressional counterparts?  First, the inflation rate

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Policy and Politics

The Politics Of The Status Quo May Be Near A Breaking Point

After the longest government shutdown in history, voter frustration with the political system is high. Both parties are viewed negatively, and among independents, the unfavorables of both parties are close to 70% (Republicans in Congress, 25-68; Democrats in Congress, 23-68). Reflecting the frustration with the status quo, independent voters are

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What’s Next After The Shutdown?

The longest federal government shutdown in history is over, with Democrats getting very little in the end. From our new numbers for Winning the Issues (November 15-17), the shutdown was overwhelmingly seen as not worth it (67%) rather than worth it (17%). Only 17% of liberal Democrats and 14% of Democrats said the shutdown was

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The Political Center Gets The Last Word On The Shutdown

The longest shutdown in history finally came to an end as eight Senators (7 Democrats and 1 Independent who caucuses with Democrats) voted with Republicans to reopen the government. There are many reasons no one wins in a shutdown, especially the American people. It was a base-driven political exercise that

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Are Republicans Losing Focus On Inflation?

This week, two BLS inflation numbers for August were reported. The first one was the Producer Price Index coming in at 2.6%, down from 3.1% in July. Following that report, the White House statement from Karoline Leavitt was that “the latest PPI report shows there is no inflation.” The following day, the Consumer

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The Key Belief That Determines Support For The Tax Bill

Congress is back from the August work period, and we’ve just come out of the field with a new read on the Big Beautiful Bill. From our latest survey for Winning the Issues (August 30-September 1, 1000 registered voters), we found that many of the same educational challenges that existed

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The New Jobs and Wages Numbers

The new jobs report came out on Friday, along with new hourly and weekly earnings. In this here is both good and bad news, but both set up the next key economic measurement — the Consumer Price Index on August 12. First, the good news. Year over year weekly wages

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What Does “Return Education To The States” Actually Mean?

Last month, the Trump administration announced that it was taking action to “break up” the department of education by rehoming certain functions to the Departments of Labor, the Interior, Health and Human Services, and State. The move, the announcement says, is meant to “move closer to fulfilling the President’s promise to

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UC San Diego Reports Steep Rise In Students Taking Remedial Math

In a report released earlier this month, UC San Diego sought to address what its Senate-Administration Workgroup on Admissions called “a steep decline in the academic preparation of its entering first-year students”. This decline, they write, “poses serious challenges both to student success and to the university’s instructional mission.” While writing and language were

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Roll Call: There’s No Sugarcoating Inflation

The Winston Group’s David Winston writes in today’s Roll Call about the White House’s renewed focus on the economy and affordability, and puts in the context of the elections earlier this month. He argues there is still time for Republicans to take on these issues, and that, while tackling them

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