The Downballot

Paul Krugman is many things: a Nobel Prize-winning economist, a beloved professor, and a former New York Times columnist, among others.

But now he’s also a fellow Substacker, publishing his eponymous must-read newsletter every weekday—and a special video feature on the weekends.

So it was with the utmost pleasure that I joined his weekly video chat, along with G. Elliott Morris of Strength in Numbers, to discuss one of my favorite to...

We're diving deep into New York City's many-layered Democratic primary for mayor on this week's episode of The Downballot podcast. Polls keep showing Andrew Cuomo in the lead, but is it big enough to stop a late surge by Zohran Mamdani? Will Brad Lander's arrest by federal agents give him a last-minute jolt? And will we see any more alliances like the recent Mamdani-Lander cross-endorsement? We explore all these questions and many ...

The 2025 primaries are underway! On this week's episode of The Downballot podcast, we're recapping all the action from Tuesday's elections in New Jersey and previewing next week's contests in Virginia. As per usual, there are also special elections to discuss, including a monster Democratic overperformance in Oklahoma.

We've also got the bizarre case of Republican Rep. Mark Green, who just announced his resignation … while reportedl...

We've been subject to endless hot takes about last year's elections, but Catalist has much more compelling answers. CEO Michael Frias joins us on this week's episode of The Downballot podcast to explore his firm's detailed new report, What Happened in 2024, that uses carefully assembled voter data to understand how things really went down.

Frias explains why greater turnout might not have benefited Democrats and doesn't flinch from ...

Republicans have been trying to make it harder for ordinary citizens to effect change at the ballot box for many years, and their latest effort has now washed ashore in the Sunshine State. This week on The Downballot podcast, Amy Keith, the executive director of Common Cause Florida, joins us to explain how a new GOP bill would impose wild new restrictions on the ballot initiative process, including making it a felony if grandma co...

Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell has an extraordinary story to tell, and she's sharing it with us on this week's edition of The Downballot podcast. Despite an early life dominated by tragedy, including the death of her twin brother while incarcerated, Campbell rose to become the state's top law enforcement official. She explains how she's used her office both to fight for her constituents—on matters from housing affor...

After bursting onto the scene as the newest swing state just a few years ago, Georgia will be a top battleground in next year's midterms up and down the ballot. Joining us on this week's episode of The Downballot podcast is Charlie Bailey, the new chair of the Georgia Democratic Party, to share his insights on 2026. Bailey tells us about the most critical tasks he faces in building up the party and shines a spotlight on key races—i...

At long, long, long last, Republicans have abandoned their effort to overturn the election for North Carolina's Supreme Court—which took place all the way back in November. We've closely followed every twist and turn, so naturally we're exploring what it all means, both for Democrats and democracy, on this week's episode of The Downballot podcast.

And joining us as our guest is Matt Hildreth, executive director of Rural Organizing, ...

The Virginia GOP is in the midst of a meltdown after the state's governor demanded a fellow Republican running for lieutenant governor quit the race—even though he's the only candidate running. We're examining the mess on this week's episode of The Downballot podcast, as well as another big story out of the Old Dominion: longtime Democratic Rep. Gerry Connolly's retirement and what it means for his perch atop the House Oversight Co...

The Downballot is thrilled to announce the publication of the newest edition of our most widely used—and beloved—set of data: our calculations of the 2024 presidential election results for all 435 congressional districts. Naturally, we're talking all about it on this week's edition of our podcast, including why it's such a herculean undertaking and what the numbers tell us. Most important of all, the data points the way to the race...

Philip Bump, for many years an important voice at the Washington Post, joins us on this week's episode of The Downballot podcast to share our mutual love of nerding out on numbers. Philip explains how he translates abstract data for a broad audience, going into detail on some surprising findings regarding turnout and special elections. He also explores how the second Trump administration differs from the first and concludes that pu...

Liberals won a massive victory in last week's pivotal battle for the Wisconsin Supreme Court, but the public saw precious little polling data that projected a blowout. Joining us on this week's episode of The Downballot podcast is pollster Margie Omero of GBAO, whose internal polling nailed Judge Susan Crawford's 10-point margin. Democrats hedged their bets, though, by modeling two different electorates—one redder and one bluer. Om...

Tuesday night was a massive triumph for the forces of democracy, from coast to coast and up and down the ballot. We're recapping all of the action in this week's episode of The Downballot podcast, starting with Wisconsin's marquee race for the state Supreme Court and the very real possibility that Elon Musk's aggressive intrusion into the contest wound up helping Susan Crawford preserve liberals' narrow majority.

Co-hosts David Nir ...

The crazy flips just keep on coming! On this week's episode of The Downballot podcast, co-hosts David Nir and David Beard drill down into James Malone's astonishing victory in Tuesday's special election in Pennsylvania—one that saw him capture a seat Democrats had never held. They also preview next week's races in Florida, where Republicans are suddenly sweating another special election, and, of course, Wisconsin, which will hold a...

Chuck Schumer and the handful of Senate Democrats who stood with him have faced unprecedented backlash for caving to Republicans on their budget bill last Friday, so we're pulling out our Geiger counters and assessing the fallout on this week's episode of The Downballot podcast. Co-hosts David Nir and David Beard explain why Schumer's biggest failure was his hamfisted execution of an already questionable strategy. But it's not just...

Democrats in Congress are in the middle of an extraordinary battle over government funding, but if they fail to heed their base and stand up to Republicans, the electoral impact could be dramatic—though not in a way they're accustomed to. This week on The Downballot podcast, co-hosts David Nir and David Beard explore the ramifications of this shutdown fight and explain why Democrats have little reason to worry it will affect next y...

Federal workers who've gotten smashed by Elon Musk's wrecking ball cut a sympathetic figure and have a compelling story to tell—and they could prove to be Democrats' best candidates. On this week's episode of The Downballot podcast, co-hosts David Nir and David Beard discuss why Andrew Lennox, a Marine veteran fired from the VA, is likely just the first of many former government employees whose righteous fury Republican office-hold...

Democrats have a lot of options when deciding how to oppose Donald Trump—and some of them are making the wrong choices. On this week's episode of The Downballot podcast, we make a case study out of Massachusetts Rep. Stephen Lynch, whose recent outburst at constituents who exhorted him to more forcefully resist Trump could net him a primary challenge. But it's not just Lynch: Anger among Democratic voters and activists is intense, ...

The most important election between now and November will take place on April 1 in Wisconsin, when liberals will defend their hard-won majority on the state Supreme Court. Joining us on this week's episode of The Downballot podcast is veteran Badger State strategist Joe Zepecki, who breaks down every aspect of the race for us: who the candidates are, what kind of attack ads each side is running, and how Elon Musk's seven-figure cas...