Zohran Mamdani's stunning upset in last month's primary is still reverberating, which is why we were eager to talk with his pollster, Jane Rayburn of Workbench Strategy, on this week's episode of The Downballot podcast to understand just how he pulled it off. Rayburn pulls back the curtain to explain how her firm captured the sentiments of a radically reshaped electorate, why Mamdani wanted a two-person race, and when she knew he could actually win. Plus, the challenges of polling a ranked-choice contest!
Co-hosts David Nir and David Beard also delve into two major Republicans who announced retirements just before the Fourth of July: Thom Tillis in North Carolina and Don Bacon in Nebraska. Why are they bailing? Who has the inside track to succeed them? And what exactly is Lara Trump's job? We do our level best to answer all of these questions!
Mamdani’s win has refocused the light on political categories like democratic socialism and socialist. They’re often used by the right to tar any progressive idea, but Mamdani reminds us to take a closer look. I just wrote about this, with a chart, have a look: https://shalyn8.substack.com/p/the-s-word-labeling-of-the-left