With less than two weeks to go before the 2022 midterm elections, a new national poll from the Tufts University Public Opinion Lab shows a tight race for U.S. House of Representatives. Among likely voters in the poll, Democrats were narrowly preferred with 48% of the vote compared to 47%…

By Erika Chen (Class of ‘22) Gun control is one of the most salient partisan issues in American politics. Democrats argue that increased gun control measures are needed for public safety and to curb the rise in gun violence and mass shootings. However, Republicans question the validity of blaming gun…

by Scott Blatte (Class of ‘23) In my last blog post, I identified a group of contradictory responses to two policing questions from individuals who I argued were likely inattentive when responding to those questions. This finding raises two important follow-up questions, both of which I work to answer in…

by Yonatan Margalit (class of ‘22) It has been just over one year since the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine received emergency use authorization (EUA), and shots started going into the arms of Americans. Two more EUA approvals for Covid-19 vaccines, multiple variants, and the introduction of the booster shot later, we find…

by Jacob Kirsch (Class of ‘22) Both the Biden and Trump administrations have faced intense scrutiny for controversial foreign policy decisions such as the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan and the removal of U.S. forces from Kurdish-controlled northern Syria, respectively. However, it can be difficult to separate genuine policy-oriented…

by David Wingens (class of ‘23) In April 2021, President Joe Biden announced that the time had come for America to withdraw from its years-long war in Afghanistan. In justifying the withdrawal, he pointedly claimed that America’s “reasons for staying have become increasingly unclear.” The question this raises is, when…

by Jennifer Best (Class of ‘22) Young people are an increasingly large — and important — part of the US electorate. Not only are they a growing portion of the electorate, but many young people are involved in activism, ranging from protesting to working on political campaigns. …

by Brendan Hartnett (Class of ‘23) The United States is in the midst of a critical juncture for liberal democracy. Its trajectory towards democratic recession accelerated under former-President Donald Trump, who reflected the characteristics of those who have led the autocratization of Eastern Europe. Declining faith in the legitimacy of…

by Scott Blatte (Class of ‘23) Discussion of this year’s elections have focused on eye-opening results for the governor’s office in both New Jersey and Virginia, and rightfully so. But there were other elections happening across the country, including referendums in Minneapolis and Austin on reforming their police departments. The…