The Downballot

Democrats have the chance to pull off a huge upset in an upcoming special election in Tennessee, so we invited one of the best-known political analysts in the state to join us on this week’s episode of The Downballot podcast to give us the inside scoop: Justin Kanew, founder of the Tennessee Holler. Kanew, who ran for the previous version of the 7th District, explains how the district has changed since his campaign and tells us what Democrat Aftyn Behn needs to do to win over the conservative-leaning voters she’ll need in order to prevail.Co-hosts David Nir and David Beard also dig into North Carolina’s latest Republican gerrymander, which is even more extreme than their last map. Can Democrat Don Davis survive despite the GOP’s effort to target him? Which district might he run for? And why can’t Gov. Josh Stein veto the new map? We answer all these questions and more. Get full access to The Downballot at www.the-downballot.com/subscribe

Looking to see more “fightback” from Democrats? It’s happening all the time—at the state level. Joining us on this week’s episode of The Downballot podcast is Gaby Goldstein, the founder of State Futures, a new organization devoted to organizing Democratic state lawmakers. Gaby explains how her group fills a major infrastructure gap by helping Democrats share their best ideas for legislation, including new laws to protect labor rights and voting rights, all aimed at fighting back—vigorously—against Donald Trump.Co-hosts David Nir and David Beard also check in on two New England Senate primaries that experienced major shakeups this week. In Maine, establishment favorite Janet Mills has acknowledged concerns about her age as she seeks to take on Susan Collins, but the Democratic primary offers a perfect “shakedown cruise” before the ultimate battle. And in Massachusetts, Seth Moulton just issued a generational challenge to Sen. Ed Markey, but the incumbent’s liberal bona fides will be hard to match. Get full access to The Downballot at www.the-downballot.com/subscribe

All 100 seats in the Virginia House are up next month, but Democrats think they’re in a strong position to expand their narrow majority. Joining us on this week’s episode of The Downballot podcast to explain why is Del. Dan Helmer, who heads up his caucus’ campaign arm.Helmer points to the pain Virginia’s large federal workforce has experienced at Republican hands—thanks to DOGE and now the shutdown—and notes that Democrats have recruited candidates in every district for the first time in living memory. He also highlights the districts that Democrats are defending as well as the much larger number of GOP-held seats they’re targeting.Co-hosts David Nir and David Beard, meanwhile, recap Tuesday’s primaries in Tennessee’s vacant 7th Congressional District and explore how and why Democrats just might be able to pull off an upset despite the seat’s strong conservative lean. They also dive into the GOP’s Senate primary in Texas, where a new entrant threatens to make life even more miserable for the Republican establishment—and maybe himself, too. Get full access to The Downballot at www.the-downballot.com/subscribe

Rob Sand may be the last remaining Democrat holding statewide office in Iowa, but as he wages a bid for governor, he lays out a compelling case for why the state is purpler than you might think on this week’s episode of The Downballot podcast.Sand tells us about the massive lottery scandal he busted, which thrust him onto the national radar; how he hung on to win reelection as auditor by just 3,000 votes in 2022, even as all his fellow Democrats lost; and why Iowans are especially fed up after a decade of one-party rule, giving him an opening next year. He also shares his love of cartograms—those maps that depict population rather than area. After all, land doesn’t vote! Get full access to The Downballot at www.the-downballot.com/subscribe

Polling is more difficult than ever, particularly in a city as complicated and diverse as New York. Adam Carlson, founding partner at Zenith Research, joins us to discuss how he conducted a detailed poll of the New York City mayor’s race and how he views the state of that race now. We also get his take on the New Jersey and Virginia gubernatorial races as well as Prop 50 in California and take a peek at 2026.Host David Beard and guest host Joe Sudbay discuss the current moves to gerrymander Kansas and how that might launch a serious Democratic challenger into the Senate race there. They also discuss the Wisconsin governor’s race, where a hardline conservative Republican has jumped in and the D.C. delegate race, where Eleanor Holmes Norton has her first serious challenger in years. Get full access to The Downballot at www.the-downballot.com/subscribe

Digital advertising is an increasingly important part of every political campaign, but it turns out tons of money gets wasted on, well, crap. Myles Bugbee, the founder of Persuasion & Pixels, joins us on this week's episode of The Downballot podcast to explain how middlemen in this opaque new world extract money from advertisers without adding any value—and how campaigns can avoid common pitfalls. Republicans have already learned some important lessons, but Democrats, Bugbee says, are still playing catch-up.Co-hosts David Nir and David Beard also explore the brand-new candidacy of Tejano music star Bobby Pulido, whose bid for a House seat in South Texas has Democrats hopeful he can help reverse the party's losses with Latinos. They discuss party-switcher Geoff Duncan, who's now running for governor of Georgia as a Democrat after serving as lieutenant governor as a Republican. And they check in on former Rep. Wiley Nickel, a past guest on the program who just launched a bid for a powerful district attorney's post. Get full access to The Downballot at www.the-downballot.com/subscribe

Even amidst all the grim news, supporters of democracy have much more power than they think. That's the message from election law expert Justin Levitt on this week's episode of The Downballot podcast.Levitt explains why Donald Trump has almost no legal power to direct the conduct of elections and emphasizes that voters have almost always rejected gerrymandering when given the chance. He even expresses cautious optimism that the Supreme Court won't wreck the remaining pillar of the Voting Rights Act and expects that new GOP gerrymanders won't be enough to overcome a wave election.Co-hosts David Nir and David Beard also recap Tuesday's elections in Northern Virginia and Boston—two blowouts that were good news for Democrats. They discuss how Missouri Democrats can prevent Republicans from enacting their new gerrymandered map, and why Democratic primaries in a pair of key Senate races are almost certainly going to be a good thing. Get full access to The Downballot at www.the-downballot.com/subscribe

Labor Day weekend was anything but slow on the news front, with three giant retirements dominating the political headlines. On this week's episode of The Downballot podcast, we examine all three, starting with longtime Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler's selfless embrace of generational change. Things were less happy on the other side of the ledger, though, with Joni Ernst bailing in Iowa and a conservative Supreme Court justice calling it quits in Wisconsin.Co-hosts David Nir and David Beard also speak with Jennifer Rodriguez, a top official at the AFL-CIO who explains how exactly her organization—a "union of unions"—supports the labor movement. Noting that organized labor is a rare institution that maintains high levels of public trust, Rodriguez tells us how her federation identifies pro-labor candidates and helps elect them to office. Get full access to The Downballot at www.the-downballot.com/subscribe

Democrats have turned in a lot of remarkable performances in special elections this year, but Tuesday's win in Iowa was the biggest by far—and we explain why on this week's episode of The Downballot podcast. Not only did progressive organizer Catelin Drey flip a deep-red district, but by doing so, she broke the GOP's supermajority in the state Senate. It's also the latest sign that the political environment for Iowa Republicans is pug-ugly—not something they want with much bigger races on the line next year.Co-hosts David Nir and David Beard also delve into the big new legal decision out of Utah, where a judge just ruled that Republicans were not permitted to gerrymander the state's congressional map and would have to draw a new one. It's a major victory for direct democracy, and it also means a new Democratic seat—likely in time for the 2026 midterms. Get full access to The Downballot at www.the-downballot.com/subscribe

Now that California has unveiled its response to the Texas GOP's new gerrymander, we're examining the map district by district on this week's episode of The Downballot podcast. We discuss all of the Republican seats that Democrats are targeting; what Plan B might look like for screwed-over GOP incumbents; which California Democrats are making the biggest sacrifices; and much, much more.Co-hosts David Nir and David Beard also take stock of a new Democratic challenger running against Maine Sen. Susan Collins: Graham Platner, a military veteran and oyster farmer whose campaign launch this week took the political world by storm. We explore what longtime politicos might have to learn from a first-time candidate like Platner—and how his message about affordability shares much in common with that of a very different candidate who's also shaking up Democratic politics.To celebrate our first anniversary and take advantage of our special offer to podcast listeners mentioned at the top of the show, please visit the-downballot.com/anniversary to enjoy 25% off our normal subscription rate. Get full access to The Downballot at www.the-downballot.com/subscribe

Drowning in a sea of redistricting news? On this week's episode of The Downballot podcast, we introduce our brand-new guide to the latest developments in every state—a resource worth bookmarking because we're continually updating it. Co-hosts David Nir and David Beard run through some of the top stories, including the status of the Democratic walkout in Texas, and how Democrats might fight back at the ballot box against new GOP gerrymanders in Ohio and Missouri by deploying an unusual tool.We also sit down with state Rep. Billie Butler, the newest member of the New Hampshire legislature. Butler, a musician and artist, tells us all about her recent special election win, a race that saw her face down appalling anti-trans attacks from Republicans to prevail by double digits. But what's actually top of mind for her constituents? The high cost of living, especially housing—a pressing issue she's eager to tackle at the state capitol. Get full access to The Downballot at www.the-downballot.com/subscribe

What's it like to have to indefinitely uproot your life in the face of thuggish legal threats so that you can help save democracy as we know it? Texas state Rep. Mihaela Plesa returns to The Downballot podcast to give us a rare inside look at the remarkable decision by Democrats to flee the state in an effort to block Republicans from passing an egregious new gerrymander.Plesa hammers the GOP for prioritizing partisan gain over critical flood relief; explains the devious ways Republicans want to undermine Black and Latino voting rights; and tells us about Democrats' new life on the road and the enthusiastic reception she and her compatriots have received—wherever they've gone.Co-hosts David Nir and David Beard also explore newly reported details about California's plan to fight back, including a likely special election asking voters to adopt a new map, as well as which Republican incumbents might get targeted. Get full access to The Downballot at www.the-downballot.com/subscribe

On this week's episode of The Downballot podcast, Ally Mutnick, a senior congressional reporter for Punchbowl, joins us to run down the ins and outs of mid-decade redistricting. We go through the Texas GOP's newly proposed map district by district to see how Republicans are targeting five Democratic seats—and discuss how Democrats might try to block the plan by breaking quorum in the state legislature.Then we look at the many other states where Democrats have suggested they might engage in an eye-for-an-eye response, with a particular focus on California. Mutnick also shares her thoughts on key Senate races across the country, including messy GOP primaries in Texas and Georgia; a matchup in North Carolina that already looks set; and a big outstanding question in Maine.If you haven’t already subscribed to The Downballot’s Morning Digest newsletter, just click below! Get full access to The Downballot at www.the-downballot.com/subscribe

The big boss is (almost) here: Former Gov. Roy Cooper is reportedly set to run for North Carolina's open Senate seat, and we're talking all about it on this week's episode of The Downballot podcast. Co-hosts David Nir and David Beard explain why Cooper is the Democrats' No. 1 recruit of the 2026 midterms.We also talk with Brian Lemek, the executive director of Defend the Vote, about how his organization helps elect candidates eager to fight for democracy. Lemek tells us that it's okay for Democrats to acknowledge that the system is broken—and that doing so allows them to connect the task of fixing our democracy with voters' everyday concerns. He also flags some of his favorite candidates running this cycle, including one surprising name. Get full access to The Downballot at www.the-downballot.com/subscribe

Texas Republicans already gerrymandered their maps half to death, but Donald Trump is pushing them to go even further. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, however, has proposed a tit-for-tat plan that would make the GOP pay a price, and we're exploring its potential on this week's episode of The Downballot podcast. Are Newsom's ideas legally feasible—and can he sell them to voters? A swing of as many as five House seats could depend on it.Co-hosts David Nir and David Beard also go behind the scenes to discuss what it's like to actually run in a special election with Washington state Sen. Deb Krishnadasan. She tells us all about the extremely swingy district she's defending; how the August top-two primary functions as a sort of massive poll of the November general election; and how Trump's "big beautiful bill" instantly got voters up in arms. Get full access to The Downballot at www.the-downballot.com/subscribe