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Will The 2026 Midterms Be A 2018 Repeat? 3 Reasons It May Not
Republicans are hoping to defy history in the upcoming midterm election. From our historical tracking data, the political environment at this point in the year in 2018 looks similar to where things stand today. The Republican brand was about the same in 2018 (36-59 favorable-unfavorable) as it is in the 2026 survey (37-59). The brand image of Democrats is worse now (39-56) than it was in 2018 (43-52). Both parties are in a difficult position
Latest Posts
Where Is The Political Will On Education?
Roll Call: Trump’s Big Bet on Operation Epic Fury
Progress On The Economy
Medicare For All vs. The Current Health Care System
Policy and Politics
Will The 2026 Midterms Be A 2018 Repeat? 3 Reasons It May Not
Republicans are hoping to defy history in the upcoming midterm election. From our historical tracking data, the political environment at this point in the year in 2018 looks similar to where things stand today. The Republican brand was about the same in 2018 (36-59 favorable-unfavorable) as it is in the
Where Are Republicans On The Filibuster?
The future of the filibuster is back in the spotlight as the President continues to push for its elimination. In our latest research for Winning the Issues (March 15-17), we looked at the filibuster and voter reaction to arguments for keeping and eliminating it. Contrast #1 (All Voters): Keeping versus
Second Time Around For A Government Shutdown?
Neither party came out of last fall’s shutdown as a winner, but Democrats took more hits than Republicans. From our tracking for Winning the Issues, our November post-shutdown survey showed that Republicans ended the shutdown at 37-58 favorable-unfavorable, and in January, are currently at 41-53 fav-unfav. Democrats ended the shutdown
Progress On The Economy
One of the key questions going into the midterm election will be this: have Republicans made progress on the economy? Since November of last year, we have seen the direction of economy improve slightly from 31-58 to 36-51 in January. This is still a negative view, but going in the
Are Republicans Turning The Corner On The Economy?
The newest BLS numbers for inflation and weekly wages (from December) showed that November’s positive numbers were sustained. This change has largely been as a result of decreased gas prices, and has only emerged in the last two BLS monthly reports. As seen in our most recent survey for Winning
Republicans Are Betting On A Great Economy In 2026. Is That Enough?
Republicans are facing a challenging midterm environment, but they are banking on the economy improving and larger tax refunds coming in 2026. Democrats think that they don’t have to win on the economy, but only need to be competitive on the issue. Third Way’s EVP of public affairs, Matt Bennett, told
Do Voters Believe 40% of Fourth Graders Are Below Basic In Reading?
Our last newsletter asked the question: where is the political will to address the clear challenges we are facing in education? We speculated that voters might see the problem as so challenging, they don’t know how we would begin to solve it. Or, they may not be aware of the
Where Is The Political Will On Education?
At the end of February, the assessment company NWEA released a report detailing their latest findings on learning loss recovery. The results painted a familiar picture. From their analysis of fall 2024 data, a third of schools have recovered in either math or reading, while only one in seven have
What The Latest ACS Data Tell Us About School Enrollment
At the end of January, the Census Bureau released the results of its American Community Survey (ACS), a trove of data about several aspects of American life. This week, we take a look at the latest ACS estimates on K-12 school enrollment (ACS 1-year estimates for 2024) and compare them
Roll Call: Connecting The Dots On The Economy
The Winston Group’s David Winston in today’s Roll Call with the latest on the economy and what we know about how wages have changed relative to prices, gas prices, and the jobs outlook. For Trump and Republicans, however, the biggest challenge remains the economic speed bumps that continue to plague
Roll Call: Trump’s Big Bet on Operation Epic Fury
The Winston Group’s David Winston’s latest column for Roll Call on the United States’ military action in Iran. The domestic political implications of Operation Epic Fury await its conclusion. Eliminating Iran’s nuclear threat is an objective that Republicans supported during Operation Midnight Hammer and most support now. Given Trump’s campaign promise to
Roll Call: Trump’s economic progress report to the country — and what’s next
The Winston Group’s David Winston writes about Trump’s State of the Union speech and the case the president needs to make on the economy in his latest column for Roll Call. Trump’s State of the Union speech this week needed to achieve two objectives. First, it had to give voters