Whit Ayres

Nov 8, 2024 | usnews.com | Shermichael Singleton |Carrie Sheffield |Whit Ayres

In what will forever be remembered as one of the most stunning comebacks in American politics, former President Donald Trump reclaimed the White House by winning all of the swing states and the popular vote to boot. Battling negative press and legal cases, Trump took his case to the American people. Voters have been struggling with the cost of living and inflation. They’ve seen their jobs and local resources diminished by an influx of illegal migrants in their communities.

Nov 8, 2024 | usnews.com | Whit Ayres |Ashley Pratte Oates

Did the polls mislead us again? That’s the question many people are asking in the wake of Donald Trump’s decisive Electoral College victory and his likely victory in the popular vote too, which would be the first for a Republican in 20 years. Many Americans, including political operatives on both sides, expected a long night on Tuesday, with a race call potentially delayed for several days, as it was in 2020. Instead, Trump’s victory was pretty clear by midnight Eastern time, if not earlier.

Feb 6, 2023 | thebulwark.com | Whit Ayres

[Editor’s note: “The Focus Group” is back for a new season. In this excerpt from a conversation about The Bulwark’s first-ever poll, pollster Whit Ayres and Bulwark publisher Sarah Longwell discuss the Trump troubles that have created an opening for candidate DeSantis.]Sarah Longwell: The open-ended questions [in the poll] are really interesting, just because they totally reflect what we hear from the focus group participants about why they think Trump is not electable.