Democracy in Color with Steve Phillips

Election Day is 40 days away. Political Director of the California Donor Table Michael Gomez Daly discusses the upcoming midterms and the 862 votes that defied political consultants polling data and flipped a long-held Republican seat in California’s Central Valley during the 2018 election.  He shares what that race can teach us about organizing in 2026, the limits of voter-propensity models, and why local, relationship-based organizing still matters in an era of increasingly sophisticated campaign data. REFERENCES: California Donor Table California Donor Table LinkedIn

With the 2026 midterms less than eight weeks away, we sit down with veteran Democratic strategist and political data expert Tom Bonier to take a closer look at what the numbers are telling us about the electorate. Tom is CEO of the TARA Group and a senior adviser and former CEO of TargetSmart, one of the country’s leading Democratic political data firms. He has also taught political science at Howard University. Together, we dig into the battle for Congress, what Democrats’ performance among Black and Latino voters could mean in November, the changing electoral map, and why Bonier says we should take the polls with a grain of salt. Plus, Bonier shares what he’s watching most closely in the final stretch and where the data may be telling a different story from the conventional wisdom. REFERENCES: Tom Bonier - @tbonier

Mila Atmos, host and executive producer of the new podcast series Occupy! An Unfinished Uprising, joins us to discuss the lasting legacy of Occupy Wall Street and how many of the ideas once considered radical have moved into the political mainstream. She points out the through-line from Occupy’s “99 percent” movement, which started 15 years ago in September 2011, to Bernie Sanders and today’s progressive resurgence, as well as the movement’s shortcomings around race and the racial wealth gap. Mila also reflects on what Occupy can teach today’s organizers—and the Democratic Party—as the struggle over the party’s future continues.   REFERENCE: Mila Atmos - About Future Hindsight - Podcast Site Occupy! An Unfinished Uprising - Podcast Site

Political creator, influencer, attorney, and Reckoning Action founder Cheyenne Hunt discusses her work supporting survivors and how she helps bring allegations of sexual misconduct and assault by powerful political figures into public view. She takes us behind the scenes of how she builds trust with survivors, connects them with major media outlets, and uses a savvy mix of advocacy, law, and digital strategy to hold powerful people accountable—even when they're fellow progressives or Democrats.  Cheyenne also shares the experiences that shaped her, her path from political creator, influencer, and congressional candidate to survivor advocate, and what her generation—Gen Z—is teaching the political world about power and accountability. REFERENCES: Cheyenne Hunt  - IG: @Cheyenne.L.Hunt Reckoning Action - reckoningaction.org Reckoning Action - X: @ReckoningAction   

After the Supreme Court's Callais decision further dismantled the Voting Rights Act, where does Black political power go from here? We talk with UC Berkeley political scientist Jake Grumbach about why the old model of Black politics is no longer enough—and what a new strategy for building lasting political power could look like. REFERENCES: Jake Grumbach - website // @JakeMGrumbach The Voting Rights Act Is Dead. Here’s a New Model for Black Politics by Jake Grumbach, Perry Bacon, The New Republic