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The Future Of The Health Care Debate
With last fall’s government shutdown, health care is back in the spotlight as a major policy focus in Washington. Democrats believe that making the midterm elections about health care will favor them. This is an issue that has historically favored Democrats with our latest survey for Winning the Issues showing health care issue handling at 34-53 R-D. But as the Affordable Care Act’s structural flaws are becoming more obvious, tinkering around the edges of a
Latest Posts
What The Latest ACS Data Tell Us About School Enrollment
Second Time Around For A Government Shutdown?
Roll Call: Another Democratic shutdown – Is it Groundhog Day again?
What Keeps Higher Ed Leaders Up At Night?
Roll Call: The electorate’s inflation report card, January update
Are Republicans Turning The Corner On The Economy?
Policy and Politics
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
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
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
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
The Chart That Explains Why Cost Of Living Is Such A Problem
Given the current policy discussion about affordability, some Republicans think that the sudden focus on the issue is a political play by Democrats. While there is more issue focus on affordability and cost of living over the last couple of months, the problem has been hiding in plain sight all
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
What Keeps Higher Ed Leaders Up At Night?
The American Council on Education (ACE) has released its Winter Term Pulse Points Survey. These latest data examine the perspectives of higher education leaders across a variety of issues, revealing their priorities and concerns for the coming year. As part of the survey, leaders were presented with a series of
New Year, New Education Issue Handling Numbers
Winning the Issues is just out of the field with a brand new survey (January 8-12; 1,000 registered voters). Among the new numbers in this latest survey is an updated look at whether voters have more confidence in the Republican Party or the Democratic Party to handle the issue of
Roll Call: Another Democratic shutdown – Is it Groundhog Day again?
The Winston Group’s David Winston writes in today’s Roll Call about the possibility of another government shutdown. Democrats didn’t come out favorably after the last shutdown, which centered on the specific issue of extending the temporary enhanced Affordable Care Act tax credits, which was itself viewed somewhat positively by the
Roll Call: The electorate’s inflation report card, January update
The Winston Group’s David Winston writes in today’s Roll Call about the latest data on how the economy is doing: The most obvious conundrum is the disparity between economic growth, or gross domestic product, and the number of jobs created over the past six months. The GDP numbers have been
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