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Senate Battleground Maine: The Secret To Success For Susan Collins
In the first of our Discussion Points Podcast Battleground episodes, we are spotlighting the Senate race between Susan Collins and Troy Jackson. (Link here to Episode 7: Senate Battleground Maine: Can Susan Collins Win Re-Election Again?) The current environment is challenging in a state like Maine, but this is something Collins has faced before. Her stunning victory in 2020 showed her appeal to crossover voters in a difficult environment. Despite Biden winning Maine by 9, Collins
Latest Posts
How Do State Standards Map To NAEP Standards?
Roll Call: Will El-Sayed Play In Pontiac Come November?
Where Is The Political Will On Education? Part 2
Policy and Politics
Senate Battleground Maine: The Secret To Success For Susan Collins
In the first of our Discussion Points Podcast Battleground episodes, we are spotlighting the Senate race between Susan Collins and Troy Jackson. (Link here to Episode 7: Senate Battleground Maine: Can Susan Collins Win Re-Election Again?) The current environment is challenging in a state like Maine, but this is something Collins
With El-Sayed On The Ticket, Is Michigan A Slam Dunk For The GOP?
Abdul El-Sayed has achieved another win for the left over the Democratic establishment. Even with his far left beliefs, Republicans shouldn’t assume this race is a slam dunk. In 2024, Republicans thought Mike Rogers — a top quality candidate — would beat Elissa Slotkin in an environment of Biden’s unpopularity.
What Is the 2026 Midterm Election Going To Be About?
In the 2024 election, the electorate sent the message that Republicans had one job: fix the Biden economy. The 2026 election will largely be about the progress that has or hasn’t made on the economy. Since the 2024 election, voters are not seeing much progress on the economy, and this
The Wall Street Journal: The Republican Party Is Losing Its Edge With Voters on the Economy
The Winston Group’s David Winston was recently featured in an article from The Wall Street Journal about cost-of-living worries and how the preference for Republicans to handle economic issues has started to slip. If Democrats win by double digits among independents and can sustain leads on the economy, a Blue
GOP’s Big Opportunity With 127 Million Filers: The Standard Deduction
In efforts to sell their Big Beautiful Bill, Republicans have focused more of their messaging on no tax on tips and overtime, but they may be missing their biggest opportunity to reach the most people with the standard deduction. The IRS says that about 90% of tax filers — 127
Are Tax Cuts Depriving The Government Of Needed Revenue?
Republicans have just passed the one year mark of their signature legislative accomplishment, The Big Beautiful Bill. One of the main Democratic criticisms of the BBB and the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is that tax cuts “deprive the federal government of needed revenue.” Given the nation’s bleak fiscal
How Do State Standards Map To NAEP Standards?
Earlier this month, the National Center for Education Statistics released the preliminary findings of its state/NAEP standards mapping study. For this initial research while the full report is prepared, researchers analyzed the shares of students reaching proficient on each state’s annual math and reading assessments and identifies the corresponding NAEP
Where Is The Political Will On Education? Part 2
At the end of last week, philanthropist and former NYC mayor Michael Bloomberg took to the virtual pages of Bloomberg with an op-ed with a straightforward thesis: “We can’t fix America’s schools without data.” The piece is a full-throated defense of using assessment data to help improve our nation’s public schools, and of
Standardized Testing – A Tale Of Two Op-Eds
As the Fourth of July weekend drew to a close, the New York Times editorial board published an essay with a straightforward request: that the University of California system bring back its standardized testing requirement for its prospective applicants. When institutions like MIT and Dartmouth gradually reinstated their testing requirements after
Roll Call: Will El-Sayed Play In Pontiac Come November?
In his latest column for Roll Call, The Winston Group’s David Winston writes about Tuesday’s Democratic Senate Primary in Michigan and what Abdul El-Sayed’s narrow win over establishment-supported Haley Stevens may mean for the general election in November. This was certainly not the comfortable victory that the surveys predicted. Now,
Roll Call: Republicans – Time Is Not On Your Side
The Winston Group’s David Winston writes in today’s Roll Call about President Trump’s recent address to the nation and whether he addressed the topic voters have said is their #1 priority: the economy and cost of living. Trump missed the opportunity to help voters understand the economic progress that has
Roll Call: One Year In, How Are Republicans Doing Selling The BBB To Voters?
In his latest column for Roll Call, The Winston Group’s David Winston assesses the work Republicans have done to sell the One Big Beautiful Bill to voters a year after passing their signature legislative accomplishment. Despite the attacks coming from the usual suspects, the BBB not only extended the