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.

The Case About Iran That President Trump Needs To Win
Within the GOP, the foreign policy debate has become more complicated, and it isn’t simply a matter of isolationism. Given that the country has just come through record inflation and cost of living is still a problem, this outlook is raising the bar for how the electorate evaluates US involvement in foreign conflicts. For some time, we have seen a recognition of the emboldening of America’s adversaries like Iran, Russia and China, following the disastrous
Latest Posts

Roll Call: Trump’s Big Bet on Operation Epic Fury


Progress On The Economy

Medicare For All vs. The Current Health Care System

What The Latest ACS Data Tell Us About School Enrollment

The Future Of The Health Care Debate
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
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
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: 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
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