The media consensus going into these midterms was that the Republicans had the momentum. What do we get wrong? Was it Trump? Was it not a focus on Dobbs? Teal, let's start with you. In Georgia, our AJC polling, particularly for the Senate race and the governor's race, turned out to be pretty accurate. Do you think that pushed forward abortion? Well, we, and again, even our polling showed that when we talked to voters, we knew that inflation, the economy, pocketbook issues were number one. No, it wasn't necessarily number one, but they were still important factors.
After Kara and Nayeema have a chat about — what else? — Elon Musk’s latest moves, we dive into democracy and the midterms. The results are (mostly) in, and the “red wave” that Republicans predicted never came. To understand why, Kara gets deep into political reporting in three key swing states: Arizona, Georgia and Pennsylvania.
Our guests are three veteran journalists who know their respective states' politics inside out: Yvonne Wingett Sanchez, democracy reporter covering Arizona for The Washington Post; Tia Mitchell, Washington correspondent for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution; and Chris Potter, government and accountability editor for WESA FM, Pittsburgh’s NPR news station. Together, the panel unpacks the midterm results and the decision by Democrats to focus on democracy, Dobbs and, yes, Donald Trump.
Plus, stay tuned for Kara’s RANT about why she’s savoring John Fetterman’s win — and why President Biden deserves more credit than he’s gotten.
Do you want Kara’s advice? Send us your questions! Call 1-888-KARA-PLZ and leave a message.
You can find Kara and Nayeema on Twitter @karaswisher and @nayeema.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices