A polarized electorate is divided into tribal camps that demonize each other. That’s the setting for the upcoming midterm elections. If the US continues down this path, democracy will suffer.
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The odds favor a big year for Democrats, but the extent of their gains is still in doubt.
If the Democrats get close to retaking the House of Representatives in the midterm elections, the odds of impeachment are high. But the Senate remains problematic.
The true number of people who do not favor either of the two major political parties in the US has actually remained stable in recent years.
Access to the ballot has been increased and diminished according to whoever manages to win power to write the rules. Just look at North Dakota.
The midterm elections have put America’s political divide front and center, increasingly invading the work space and stressing out employees.
While Donald Trump’s election may seem to US voters to present unprecedented questions of legitimacy, such questions were first asked more than a century ago, in an election that turned on bicycles.
The more undemocratic tendencies of the US electoral system are growing stronger. As the midterm campaign season enters its final stage, it turns out that some votes count more than others.
Nearly half of Americans say they see a great deal of bias in the news media. But the research on this subject is unresolved.
Millennials are less inclined than older Americans to intervene abroad, maintain superior military power or believe the US is an exceptional nation. What does that mean for the country’s future?
Democrats won the popular vote in six of the last seven presidential elections, but Republican presidents have appointed a majority of the sitting justices. Is the court out of step with America?
Compromise is necessary for government to function. But citizens see compromise differently. Democrats like it more than Republicans, who fear of their representatives being compromised.
Caribbean immigrants in Miami are upending old assumptions about black voters in Florida. Neither party should take them for granted in this November’s midterm election.
While it might seem like a longstanding tradition, it’s a relatively recent phenomenon in the U.S.
The current period of partisan division in the US isn’t unique. We can learn from past President Dwight Eisenhower on how to leave bitterness behind and get back to what he called the “Middle Way.”
The 2013 shutdown offers some clues as to what the impact will be now after Republicans and Democrats failed to agree to a short-term spending deal.
If they pass a deal on DACA, it’s a win for both sides of the aisle and thousands of ‘Dreamers,’ but a loss for millions of undocumented immigrants.
Nearly one of every four people in the US is unaffiliated, which has prompted speculation that this would increase support for liberal policies. A scholar provides some lessons from history.
Republicans were able to push through a tax plan and a flurry of judicial nominees after the Senate curtailed use of the filibuster. It’s time to go all the way.
Doug Jones has won a tough battle to represent Alabama in the US Senate; meanwhile, the crucial byelection in Bennelong is neck-and-neck, with huge implications for the government if it loses.
Top contributors
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Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne
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William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Jurisprudence and Political Science, Amherst College
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W. Alton Jones Professor of Philosophy, Vanderbilt University
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Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Dayton
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Associate Professor of Political Science, Northwestern University
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Professor in U.S. Politics and U.S. Foreign Relations at the United States Studies Centre and in the Discipline of Government and International Relations, University of Sydney
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Professor of Political Science, University of Richmond
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Assistant Professor of Intellectual Heritage, Temple University
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Director of Research, US Studies Centre, University of Sydney
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Professor of Political Science and Affiliate Professor of Public Policy, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
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Associate Professor, Political Science, Emory University
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Professor of Communication and Journalism, Texas A&M University
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Dennis Altman is a Friend of The Conversation.
VC Fellow, La Trobe University
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Adjunct Lecturer, University of Sydney
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Associate Professor of Political Science, George Mason University
