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The Downballot

By: Daily Kos Elections
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  • Summary

  • The Downballot is a show dedicated to the thousands of elections across America for critically important offices below the presidency, from Senate to city council. With more than 20 years of experience analyzing U.S. elections, Daily Kos provides unparalleled insight into congressional and state races nationwide. Tune in every Thursday morning for one-of-a-kind coverage of these key contests.
    Copyright 2024 Daily Kos Elections
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Episodes
  • We finally went there!

    We finally went there!
    Jul 25 2024
    We've strived mightily to stick to down-ticket elections since launching our show more than two years ago, but the universe finally forced us to discuss the presidential race on this week's episode of "The Downballot"! But it's for a good reason: The new surge in Democratic enthusiasm for the top of the ticket is likely to have a salutary effect further down the ballot. And the events of the last few weeks are a reminder, as host David Nir and guest host Joe Sudbay say, that things can change awfully fast and we all need to remain humble.But have no fear: We haven't forgotten our true calling! Our guest this week is Inside Elections publisher Nathan Gonzales, who is as devoted to downballot races as anyone. Gonzales tells us how the world of election analysis has changed over the last two decades and explains how his publication's widely followed race ratings are actually put together. He also talks about Inside Elections' efforts to fill a major data gap by polling key House races—and even breaks a little news about where they'll be polling next!
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    49 mins
  • Give up on 2024? Vote Save America says hell no!

    Give up on 2024? Vote Save America says hell no!
    Jul 18 2024
    Unnamed "senior Democrats" are at it again, saying they're "resigned" to losing in November. On this week's episode of "The Downballot," host David Nir and guest host Joe Sudbay go hog-wild on the defeatists, explaining why humility and fortitude must be the order of the day. They also delve into polling data showing that the top of the ticket is not destiny: Regardless of what happens in the race for the White House, you don't need to be huffing hopium to believe that Democrats are still very much in the game further down the ballot.And no one believes that more than our guest this week. Shaniqua McClendon runs Vote Save America, the activism arm of the Pod Save America network, which is dedicated to helping progressives across the country get involved at all levels. McClendon explains how the Pod Save crew leverages its reach to engage grassroots activists, and why VSA is devoted to ensuring small donors get the biggest bang for their buck. She also tells us about some of her top races and how listeners can get involved at votesaveamerica.com.
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    47 mins
  • The other 499,999 elections

    The other 499,999 elections
    Jul 11 2024
    There are half a million elected offices in the United States, and the presidency is just one of them. This week on "The Downballot," co-hosts David Nir and David Beard revisit why they started the show in the first place: to cast a spotlight on those other 499,999 races. If you're a progressive feeling understandably depressed and/or scared right now, it's more important than ever to remember we can still have a huge impact further down the ticket—and there's lots of reason to think that even if Democrats lose the White House, they can score major victories elsewhere. And no matter what, the more seats we win, the firmer our bulwark against fascism.Indeed, two of America's most important allies showed us just that over the past week. The Davids recap monumental elections in the United Kingdom and France that saw voters across the spectrum reject the far right. The results, though, look very different. The U.K. just ushered in a massive majority for the center-left Labour Party for the first time in 14 years, while France's parliament is now split between three major blocs that themselves have internal divisions. What comes next is anyone's guess, but we can at least say that extremism and xenophobia failed to carry the day.
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    39 mins
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SO GLAD I STUMBLED ON THIS !!!

I have never heard such a concise but all encompassing election update/analysis.. will come back for more 😁

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Why it so important to be informed and vote!

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this podcast. They are entertaining and informative. So glad I found them.

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