Our new book is The Comeback: The 2024 Elections and American Politics. The second Trump administration is off to an ominous start. Democrats have problems, but still take hope.
Here's the five-part theory of the case for why Dems are optimistic about 2026, as laid out by more than a dozen of their top campaign staffers:
- The "big, beautiful bill" is polling terribly.
- Cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act are expected to make the "big, beautiful bill" even more unpopular.
- Prices are still high despite Trump promising to bring them down. Economic approval had long been one of Trump's consistent political strengths. Now it's not.
- Trump's deportations are getting blowback after going well beyond violent criminals and gang members. Polls show Republicans losing an advantage on one of their key issues in the 2024 election.
- Democratic enthusiasm. A recent CNN poll found 72% Democrats and Democratic-aligned voters are extremely motivated to vote in the midterm elections, compared to just 50% of Republicans and Republican-aligned voters.
How closely are Americans following news about government files from the federal investigation of Jeffrey Epstein, and what do they think about President Donald Trump’s handling of the issue? The Washington Post texted 1,089 people Monday to ask.
The Post’s poll found that most Americans are paying at least some attention to news about the Epstein files. Americans largely disapprove of how Trump is handling the issue, with most Democrats and independents disapproving and Republicans expressing a mix of approval and uncertainty. Most Americans strongly support releasing all files in the Epstein case and suspect the documents contain embarrassing information about Trump, Democrats and billionaires.
