All Politics
A new candidate class: schoolteachers running for officeTeachers experienced strength in numbers when tens of thousands went on strike this year. Many were emboldened to enter politics. What will they do if elected?聽
First LookContest for GOP House leadership lays bare Republican divisionsAfter the November midterms, Republicans will face the hard question: Who will replace聽House Speaker Paul Ryan?聽The GOP is projected to lose ground in elections but will likely result in a core made up of the far right Freedom Caucus and Trump loyalists.
First LookFlorida's tight gubernatorial race gains momentumFlorida residents are split between Democratic Andrew Gillum and Republican Ron DeSantis for governor. But what's truly up for debate are a number of topics that will shape Florida for years to come: guns, race, climate change, and President Trump himself.
Risk of a new civil war? Today 'us and them' differs from 1850s.Parallels to the 1850s abound, but America is not heading for a second Civil War, historians say. 鈥淭hen鈥� was an extreme version of 鈥渘ow,鈥� and the results of its extremity may hold lessons for today. Fourth in the聽Democracy Under Strain聽series.
First LookStates and feds unite to ensure election security in midtermsIn 2016, the federal government was accused of first refusing to discuss election interference with local officials, and then trying to take control from states entirely. Now, local, state, and federal officials are working together to stop interference in 2018.聽
How Stacey Abrams has gotten within one point of Georgia governor鈥檚 mansionIn the closest governor鈥檚 race in the US, Democrat Stacey Abrams is hoping Southern Millennials' shift in focus from social to economic issues can help propel her to become the nation's first black woman governor.
First LookMassachusetts residents to vote on transgender rightsOn Nov. 6, Massachusetts will become the first state in the US to hold a statewide referendum on a transgender rights law. If passed, the referendum would repeal a 2016 law protecting transgender people from discrimination.聽
Amid complaints of a rigged system, one woman's effort to end gerrymanderingAn era of surging activism is generating new attempts to聽make the process of drawing congressional maps more impartial聽鈥� and to give more weight to individual votes. But can an inherently political process ever be truly nonpartisan?聽Third in the聽Democracy Under Strain聽series.
Why 鈥榯he Kavanaugh effect鈥� on midterms is so unpredictableAny change attributable to Justice Kavanaugh is likely to be small. Also, nobody can truly predict what it is going to be.
First LookHow the US became a leading fossil fuels exporterThis summer the United States exported 3 million barrels of crude oil each day, trailing only Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Exports have surged under President Trump, but many key policies were put in place under former President Barack Obama.聽
In Florida's kaleidoscopic politics, a window into America's futureFlorida isn鈥檛 just a potentially pivotal state in this fall鈥檚 election. It also has emerged as a kind of microcosm of the nation鈥檚 politics, including sharp racial and generational divides.
First LookAs demographics change in Orange County, so do its politicsHispanics and Asians together now make up the majority in California's previously white, conservative Orange County. With the influx of new faces comes political change: running in the fall election are a South Korean Republican woman and a Hispanic Democratic man.
First LookTexas Senate race enters the final stretch with third debateRepublican Sen. Ted Cruz and Democratic challenger Rep. Beto O'Rourke face off in a final debate on Tuesday night in a race that has captured national attention. Senator Cruz has a narrow lead in a campaign that has divided families across conservative suburbs.
How hurricane Michael could affect Florida鈥檚 high-stakes midtermsDuring previous natural disasters, bipartisan cooperation was the order of the day as everyone worked to help those in harm鈥檚 way. That unwritten code of civility has faded, as seen in Florida, where political gamesmanship continued even as the storm hit.
First LookNevada Senate race to reflect the impact of Kavanaugh's confirmationMany Republican senators are feeling more confident after the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, but Republican Sen. Dean Heller in Nevada faces a heated debate on gender politics versus his female challenger, Democratic Rep. Jacky Rosen.聽
First LookAfter a black legislator quits, Vermont faces hard questions about racismSoon after Kiah Morris became Vermont's first black female legislator in 2014, she began to experience harassment, break-ins, and death threats that led her to resign. Now, Vermonters are asking themselves how to prevent this behavior from happening again.聽
After hitting 'rock bottom' over Kavanaugh, can Senate find a way forward?Both sides agree the Kavanaugh fight may have inflicted lasting damage. Still, few are eager for a repeat 鈥� and the best time to consider improvements to the judicial nomination process is when there isn鈥檛 a vacancy at stake.聽
Conflict exhaustion or democracy renaissance? The age of in-your-face activismDemocracies aim to turn political passions into protests and activism. Living through such a time, however, draws on civic reservoirs of patience and goodwill.
FocusIn Montana, a folksy farmer and Trump provocateur battles for third termIn an age of extraordinary divisiveness,聽a tight Senate battle in pro-Trump Montana is testing whether moderate Democrats like Sen. Jon Tester 鈥� who has been willing to cross the president 鈥� can win.
First LookTrump potentially facing millions of dollars in fines for tax fraud allegationsA New York Times report published earlier this week alleges that President Trump over several decades eluded properly paying taxes on hundreds of millions of dollars. If true, it punctures the mythology of the self-made billionaire.聽
