Primary season is all but over and now Democrats and Republicans face off against each other in earnest. Hosts Greg Giroux and Kyle Trygstad break down the state of play with less than two months to go and they explain why Democrats are in a favorable position heading into the home stretch.
The Bay State is the center of the political universe this week, with several primary elections there that may unseat incumbents with decades of experience in Congress. We speak with Mary Anne Marsh, a Democratic consultant in Massachusetts, about what's at stake in tomorrow's primaries and about who is likely to come out on top.
To avoid a blowout in this November's elections, Republicans will need to revive the nearly extinct tradition of ticket splitting, former GOP congressman Tom Davis says. That's because many GOP candidates are running in swing states that Democratic nominee Joe Biden is expected to win. On this episode of Downballot Counts, hosts Kyle Trygstad and Greg Giroux speak with the former Virginia lawmaker about why ticket splitting is such a rarity these days and about why he thinks some threatened GOP ...
The campaign season shifts into a new phase with the political conventions starting this week. And despite running against an incumbent president, Joe Biden has a very strong lead, according to a recent cluster of polls. Hosts Kyle Trygstad and Greg Giroux look at whether Biden could have a so-called "coattail effect" and about who to watch during this week's Democratic convention.
Quentin James, the founder and president of The Collective PAC, discusses his organization’s effort to elect more black candidates to federal, state and local offices. He also talks about the generational change taking place among black political leaders. (Note: This interview originally aired on the June 29 episode of Downballot Counts.)
Primary season is far from over, but we’ve already seen an above-average number of incumbent congressmen fail to win their party’s nomination. We may see more in the coming weeks, with two members of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s so-called “Squad” facing strong intra-party challengers, and a member of the Kennedy family dynasty going after a sitting Senator. Hosts Kyle Trygstad and Greg Giroux break down the dynamics at play here and also look at the primary for an open Senate seat in Kansas, where...
Bloomberg Government politics reporter Emily Wilkins discusses second-quarter fundraising reports and how Democrats’ benefit from significant fundraising advantages in the House and Senate races.
Former Attorney General Jeff Sessions is fighting for his political life in this week's Alabama GOP primary runoff. Hosts Greg Giroux and Kyle Trygstad breakdown this race along with other primaries in Texas and Maine.
Quentin James, the founder and president of The Collective PAC, discusses his organization’s effort to elect more black candidates to federal, state and local offices. He also talks about what it would mean for Joe Biden to choose a black woman as his running mate.
Austin Chambers, president of the Republican State Leadership Committee, joins the latest episode of Downballot Counts to discuss the GOP's heightened focus on state legislative races this year. And Hosts Greg Giroux and Kyle Trygstad talk about Tuesday's primaries, with several longtime incumbents struggling to win their own party's nomination.
Hosts Kyle Trygstad and Greg Giroux take questions on the Georgia primaries, whether we'll have more or fewer Republican woman holding office this time next year, and the campaign impact of “Defund The Police” in Downballot Counts' inaugural mailbag episode.
This is the first time in 20 years that a presidential election will be held in the same year as the decennial census, which means that whichever party wins in statehouses this November will have a huge advantage in redrawing legislative districts. Jessica Post, president of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, talks with hosts Greg Giroux and Kyle Trygstad about her efforts to win state legislative races and set the party up well for the next round of redistricting.
Tuesday marks the start of a big month in congressional primaries. Hosts Kyle Trygstad and Greg Giroux highlight the top primaries to watch, including open-seat contests that will all but decide the next House member and the most challenging nomination fight of Rep. Steve King’s (R-Iowa) career.
A record number of women ran for the House in 2018, but that record has already been broken just two years later. Kelly Dittmar of the Center for American Women and Politics has been tracking the data and explains why Democrats are still fielding far more female candidates than Republicans. Hosts: Greg Giroux and Kyle Trygstad. Producers: David Schultz and Josh Block.
Paul Mitchell, the Sacramento-based vice president of Political Data, Inc., discusses the highly competitive special election in California’s 25th District, north of Los Angeles, and how to read the early ballot returns he’s been tracking. Hosts: Greg Giroux and Kyle Trygstad. Producers: David Schultz and Josh Block. View this episode's ad of the week here.
With the elections six months away, hosts Kyle Trygstad and Greg Giroux discuss how the coronavirus pandemic and Trump's re-election prospects affect who will win the majorities in the House and Senate. Producers: David Schultz and Josh Block.
Bloomberg Government’s Emily Wilkins discusses how the lack of retail campaigning thanks to stay-at-home orders has made TV ads more important than ever, despite the fact that they're now becoming more complicated than ever to produce.
First quarter fundraising numbers just came in and they show that vulnerable House Democrats raked in far more than their Republican challengers. Inside Elections’ Nathan Gonzales discusses these numbers and the state of play for control of Congress after more than a month of social distancing. Hosts: Kyle Trygstad and Greg Giroux Producers: David Schultz and Josh Block Watch this episode's featured political ad here.
Hosts Kyle Trygstad and Greg Giroux highlight the states where the four main congressional super PACs recently reserved TV time for the weeks leading up to the general election. Producer: David Schultz. Watch the campaign ad featured in this episode here.
Wisconsin's head-spinning state primary dynamics, a discussion of this campaign ad airing in Kentucky and later, Senate races talk with Bloomberg Government reporter Nancy Ognanovich.
Bloomberg Government politics reporter Emily Wilkins joins hosts Kyle Trygstad and Greg Giroux to discuss how campaigns are continuing to reach out to voters as the coronavirus keeps most people at home.
Hosts Kyle Trygstad and Greg Giroux break down the postponement of primaries and one of the first campaign ads focused on coronavirus.
New York Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) discusses her state's initiatives to both prepare for a worst-case scenario, helping citizens on a day-to-day basis, and how the coronavirus will affect upcoming primary elections in her state.
Rep. Ami Bera (D-Calif.) leads the political arm of the largest ideological caucus in Congress, the New Democrat Coalition. He joins Downballot Counts to discuss why freshman House Democrats from suburban districts were happy to see the former vice president take the delegate lead in the presidential race.
Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, discusses his party’s efforts to win control of the House two years after losing it and how many seats the GOP could gain if Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.) wins the presidential nomination.
Former Rep. Jason Altmire, a Democrat who represented western Pennsylvania for three terms, discusses what ails Congress and what reforms the bipartisan organization he’s advising, Unite America, is supporting.
The Texas Tribune’s Washington bureau chief Abby Livingston discusses the Lone Star State’s most vulnerable House incumbents in Super Tuesday primaries and what the chances are it goes blue in the presidential and Senate races.
Republican media consultant Casey Phillips discusses his new documentary that highlights the unusual ways U.S. election ties are broken and reinforces that every vote matters.
Rep. Cheri Bustos, chairwoman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, discusses the party’s strong fundraising in 2019 and what it means for Democrats' chances to retain control of the House in November.
In our premiere episode, Bloomberg Government’s Kyle Trygstad and Greg Giroux look ahead to Super Tuesday’s big states to watch, highlight a campaign ad airing in Alabama, and discuss congressional races in Iowa with the Cook Political Report’s Jessica Taylor.
