Nathan Gonzales, Jacob Rubashkin and Shia Kapos of Politico's Illinois Playbook dive deep into the upcoming Illinois primaries including the Democratic race to succeed Sen. Dick Durbin and a handful of crowded and competitive House primaries, where as little as 20 percent of the vote could be enough to effectively…
Nathan Gonzales, Jacob Rubashkin and Gabby Birenbaum of The Texas Tribune run down the biggest primaries in Texas including the Republican and Democratic Senate primaries and run through the Republican and Democratic House incumbents who might not even get renominated. Also, Jacob can’t stop watching reality TV, Gabby plugs the…
Fundraising is a critical part of winning reelection, but sometimes incumbents have political problems that money can’t fix.
When voter sentiment is against you, outspending your opponent isn’t sufficient to survive an electoral wave. This is important context when analyzing campaign fundraising reports.
While there can be confusion over what…
California’s 1st District. The special election to replace the late-GOP Rep. Doug LaMalfa will be August 4, the latest possible date that could be set by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom in accordance with state law. It’s technically possible that a new member could get elected in the June 2 primary,…
Nathan Gonzales and Jacob Rubashkin tackle tough end-of-the-year questions with a holiday mailbag episode. From the state of the midterm elections, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s electoral future, and each party’s recruitment holes in the fight for the House to the Roman Empire, Star Trek and the Seattle Seahawks, Jacob and Nathan cover…
Nathan Gonzales and Jacob Rubashkin cover the latest House and Senate election news and discuss the art of political analysis with the University of Virginia’s Larry Sabato, one of the most prominent analysts in the country.
Listen to the podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Pocket Casts here.
…The special election result in Tennessee’s 7th District is just the latest piece of evidence that, in spite of President Donald Trump’s reputation as a political savant, 2026 is beginning to look a lot like a traditional midterm.
There's a perception that normal rules don't apply to Trump, who…
Nathan Gonzales, Jacob Rubashkin and Kirk Bado of National Journal’s Hotline celebrate Thanksgiving by prescribing what Republicans, Democrats and even President Donald Trump should be thankful for in this holiday season. Jacob and Kirk also discuss good and bad recent movies while Nathan is thankful for the Seattle Seahawks star…
A three-judge panel in El Paso ordered Texas to return to its old congressional map for the 2026 midterm elections, rather than implement a new map the GOP-run legislature passed earlier this year in an attempt to pick up as many as five seats.
Under intense pressure from the White…
Nathan Gonzales, Jacob Rubashkin and Leah Askarinam of the Associated Press discuss their key takeaways from the recent elections in Virginia, New Jersey, California and New York City and talk about how the recent Senate vote to end the government shutdown could impact the 2026 midterm elections. Nathan also gives…
