Category Archives: political parties

Intraparty Fights Taken to Court

May 16, 2022, 4:02 pmcourt decisions, political parties, political polarization, primariesTabatha Abu El-Haj

Just a few days before Idaho’s May 17 primaries, Republicans took their internal fights to court. “In the virtual hearing [last] Friday afternoon, Fourth District Court Judge Jason Scott heard arguments from intertwined Republican organizations — one suing the… Continue reading

Will there be a “spoiler” in 2024?

April 25, 2022, 7:07 amalternative voting systems, electoral college, political partiesNed Foley

Andrew Yang is the guest on the new must-listen episode of Sarah Longwell’s Focus Group podcast. They discuss the possibility of a significant third-party, or independent, candidate in the 2024 presidential race. Yang, who’s started his own Forward Party, essentially… Continue reading

“Democrats Weigh Shake-Up to Presidential Primary Calendar”

April 14, 2022, 11:44 ampolitical parties, primariesRick Hasen

NYT: New Jersey is billing itself as a “microcosm of the country.” Washington State is highlighting its diverse communities — and robust vote-by-mail process. And as Iowa’s status as home to the first-in-the-nation presidential nominating contest looks increasingly … Continue reading

“Bye Bye Iowa? Democrats to Debate Changes to Primary Calendar”

March 14, 2022, 6:57 ampolitical parties, primariesRick Hasen

NYT reports.

“Republicans represented by John Eastman sue to close Colorado’s primary elections to unaffiliated voters”

March 3, 2022, 6:43 ampolitical partiesRick Hasen

Denver Post: Opening Colorado’s primary elections to unaffiliated voters has cost partisans their constitutional right to free association, a group of Republicans are alleging in a new lawsuit.The lawsuit, filed Feb. 24 in federal court by four current or… Continue reading

Trump Pressures Wyoming Legislators to Change Primary Law to Prevent Democratic Crossover Voting for Liz Cheney in Primary

February 18, 2022, 7:24 amelection subversion risk, political parties, primariesRick Hasen

Politico: Former President Donald Trump and his allies have been privately lobbying Wyoming lawmakers to change the state’s election laws as part of an effort to unseat Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.).On Thursday, Trump endorsed Wyoming legislation that would prevent… Continue reading

How Should Democrats Respond to the GOP’s Censure of Cheney & Kinzinger?

February 4, 2022, 1:29 pmalternative voting systems, election subversion risk, political parties, UncategorizedNed Foley

I take the censure as further evidence that the Democratic Party, if it wants to protect small-d democracy, must try to save the Republican Party from itself. To have a functioning democracy, the United States needs a responsible right-of-center party,… Continue reading

“Five Best: Books on American Political Parties “

February 4, 2022, 11:06 ampolitical parties, UncategorizedRichard Pildes

From the WSJ. Chosen by Michael Kazin, the books are: The Idea of a Party System:The Rise of Legitimate Opposition in the United States, 1780-1840 By Richard Hofstadter (1969) Affairs of Party: The Political Culture of Northern Democrats in… Continue reading

Could bipartisan democracy-protection have worked? Could it still?

December 23, 2021, 5:35 amalternative voting systems, election subversion risk, political parties, primariesNed Foley

There has been skepticism voiced by some about my suggestion that, after January 6, Democrats in Congress should have pursued a strategy of finding at least ten GOP Senators to support the kind of structural electoral reform, like a majority-winner … Continue reading

“As the GOP sheds its moderates, a whirlwind approaches”

December 21, 2021, 9:07 amalternative voting systems, election subversion risk, political parties, political polarizationNed Foley

This Washington Post op-ed, by Democratic consultant Doug Sosnik, is a counterpoint to the Virginia GOP self-description of Younkin’s victory there, as posted by Rick Pildes. While ranked-choice voting enabled Virginia Republicans to choose a gubernatorial nominee who… Continue reading

New Political Maps May Kill Swing Districts, But Swing Districts May Not Save Us

December 13, 2021, 2:33 pmpolitical parties, redistrictingPolitical Accountability, Political ResponsivenessTabatha Abu El-Haj

The Wall Street Journal is not the first to lament that the 2021 redistricting cycle is not likely to produce very many competitive districts. But how much should we care? The call for competitive elections presumes that electoral accountability emerges… Continue reading

“‘A real fight for our existence’: Massachusetts GOP spirals in Baker exit”

December 5, 2021, 6:27 pmpolitical parties, political polarization, primariesTabatha Abu El-Haj

Moderate Republicans struggling to stay in office given party primary dynamics is not exactly news. Still, this Politico article on the Republican Party in Massachusetts is worthwhile. “Republicans [in Massachusetts] have clung to relevancy in this bluest of blue state… Continue reading

“How the GOP threatens harm to red state residents, as revealed in a new study”

December 1, 2021, 4:47 pmpolitical parties, political polarizationdemocracy deficit, governance, policy responsivenessTabatha Abu El-Haj

This new Op Ed by Greg Sargent in the Washington Post, highlights, once more, deficits in policy responsiveness that arises out of hyper-polarization, among other things. Sargent highlights a new study from the Third Way–a centrist Democratic-leaning group–that analyzes the… Continue reading

“Politics is still local. When incumbents face off in redrawn districts, community ties make a big difference.”

November 30, 2021, 6:33 ampolitical partiesTabatha Abu El-Haj

Charles Hunt shares on Monkey Cage his new research arguing that “Yes, party matters. But so do incumbents’ deep ties to their districts.” The article resonates with my experience listening to voters at public meetings here in Pennsylvania talk about… Continue reading