Political Wire

Members Get the Full Experience

  • Exclusive analysis you won’t find elsewhere
  • Real-time trending news page
  • Private Trial Balloon podcast and Inside Elections newsletter
  • No advertising

Become a member. Already a member? Log in.


Rich Turn Their Mansions Into Impenetrable Fortresses

By Leave a Comment

Wall Street Journal: “Security measures once reserved for presidents and royalty—safe rooms, biometric access controls, laser-powered perimeter defenses—are now mainstream items in luxury homes. Executive-protection teams and armed guards patrol gated enclaves and suburban estates, while tech startups are rolling out predictive threat-detection systems built for the ultra-wealthy.”

“The shift reflects a hardening view among the affluent: Traditional policing and communal safety are no longer enough, so security is being privatized, customized.”

Pennsylvania’s Two Most Powerful Democrats Don’t Speak

By Leave a Comment

New York Times: “For years, Mr. Shapiro and Mr. Fetterman climbed their way through the ranks of state politics, rising from local office on opposite sides of the state to become national political stars with egos to match. Both were talked about as potential presidential candidates despite their radically different profiles.”

“Mr. Shapiro, a buttoned-up, bespectacled state legislator from the Philadelphia suburbs, emerged as a political moderate and a master of the insider’s game. Mr. Fetterman, the towering, tattooed mayor of a struggling old steel town near Pittsburgh, was a lone-wolf politician who disdained the party establishment but excited the liberal grass-roots…”

“While private animosity is common between politicians, Mr. Fetterman has propelled their long-fraught relationship to the public eye, broadcasting his resentments toward a sitting governor of his own party in a way that Pennsylvania political veterans say has little modern precedent.”

Switzerland to Vote on Capping Population

By Leave a Comment

“Switzerland will hold a referendum in June on whether to cap its population at 10 million until 2050 by limiting immigration, sharply illustrating how anti-foreigner sentiment in Europe has hardened since the continent’s migration crisis a decade ago,” the New York Times reports.

“If successful, the vote on June 14 would oblige the government to take measures over the next quarter-century to limit immigration to Switzerland, where the population currently stands at roughly 9 million.”

Border Czar to Pull ICE Out of Minnesota

By Leave a Comment

“White House border czar Tom Homan, who is overseeing Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota, said the immigration enforcement operation will soon wind down,” the Minnesota Star Tribune reports.

New York Times: “Some local officials who met with Homan in recent days were expecting him to announce a partial drawdown of agents today. He went further, declaring that the operation was being wound down because it had succeeded.”

How Will Trump Use His Massive War Chest?

By Leave a Comment

“President Trump’s political team is signaling plans to spend a significant chunk of his massive war chest to preserve Republican majorities in Congress in midterm elections,” The Dispatch reports.

“But top Trump strategists directing the effort aren’t saying how much money is available for candidate campaigns—and some GOP insiders doubt the president will greenlight a major investment.”

Quote of the Day

By Leave a Comment

“The leader of the Pedophile Protection Party is trying to deflect attention from his name being all over the Epstein files. At least in Somalia they execute pedophiles not elect them.”

— Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), on X.

Democrats May Be Saving Republicans From Themselves

By Leave a Comment

House Republicans passed a sweeping election bill yesterday requiring voters to prove citizenship with documents like a passport to register — and to show photo ID at the polls.

It now heads to the Senate, where Democrats are expected to block it.

Join now to continue reading.

Members get exclusive analysis, bonus features and no advertising. Learn more.

If you’re already a member, sign in to your account.

Trump Is Losing Low Information Voters

By Leave a Comment

G. Elliot Morris: “In 2024, the voters who knew the least about politics were some of Donald Trump’s strongest supporters. One pre-election poll found Americans who didn’t consume any news at all said they’d vote for him over Kamala Harris by a 20-point margin, 60% to 40%.”

“Today, the president’s support among low-knowledge voters has cratered to just 43%, according to a new analysis of data from our January Strength In Numbers/Verasight poll. The share of 2024 voters who now disapprove of the president is well over 55%.”

“According to our poll, low-knowledge voters backed Trump by a net margin of 11 points in 2024. Now, however, the same low-knowledge voters say they disapprove of the president by 13 points — a 25-point shift away from the president.”

A Big Blue Wave Is Still Possible

By Leave a Comment

Alan Abramowitz: “Midterm elections often act as a brake on presidential power, but extreme partisan polarization calls into question whether the 2026 midterm will serve its usual role.”

“However, despite growing partisan polarization, large partisan swings in the House and Senate still appear to be possible.”

“This is truer of the House than the Senate, though, as nationalization has helped Republicans realize an advantage on the overall Senate map.”

U.S. Attorney Chosen to Replace Trump Pick Is Soon Fired

By Leave a Comment

“Federal judges in upstate New York appointed a new U.S. attorney on Wednesday only to see him abruptly fired by the White House, in the latest clash between the Trump administration and the judiciary,” the New York Times reports.

“Donald T. Kinsella, 79, was appointed as U.S. attorney in the Northern District of New York in a private ceremony on Wednesday. But just hours later, Mr. Kinsella said, he received an email from a White House official telling him that he was being removed from the post.”

Democrats Test New Ways to Talk About Epstein

By Leave a Comment

NOTUS: “Some Democrats are now attempting to link the rolling Epstein scandal with the kitchen-table issues voters have traditionally prioritized. This wing of the party is pushing to establish the Epstein saga as emblematic of the Trump administration’s failure to address other issues the country faces.”

Trump’s Election Security Chief Is an Election Denier

By Leave a Comment

“One of the more extraordinary aspects of President Trump’s second term is this: Some of the most far-out election conspiracists who helped him spread lies about the 2020 election and then tried to overturn it are now inside the government,” the New York Times reports.

“This dynamic came into focus on Tuesday when an unsealed FBI search warrant affidavit revealed that the recent criminal investigation into the 2020 election results in Fulton County had been instigated by Kurt Olsen, a rather prominent character in Mr. Trump’s election denialism movement. Mr. Olsen, who is a lawyer, was considered by people in the first Trump administration to be a fringe menace.”

“In the second Trump administration, he is the director of ‘election security and integrity,’ with the power to refer criminal investigations — criminal investigations into things that have been thoroughly debunked.”

Anthropic and OpenAI Have Dueling Super PACs

By Leave a Comment

New York Times: “Anthropic, the safety-focused AI company formed by former OpenAI executives, said that it was putting $20 million into a new super PAC operation that will be in opposition to super PACs backed by OpenAI’s leaders and investors.”

“The donation effectively kicks off a new conflict between the rivals, with this year’s midterm elections as the battleground. At the heart of the disagreement between the companies is whether to regulate the artificial intelligence industry with more safety guardrails around the powerful technology. Anthropic generally favors politicians who are more pro-regulation than OpenAI does.”

Trump Plays the Heavy for No Reason

By Leave a Comment

Punchbowl News: “When the only tool you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.”

“Such is life with President Donald Trump, who’s warning that Republicans will be made to suffer — either in primaries or on Election Day — for voting against his unprecedented tariff regime.”

“First, let’s say this: Trump is wasting his energy. He can veto any tariff termination resolution and the vast majority of Republicans would absolutely uphold his veto. These resolutions are nothing more than a bad headline for the president. But Trump doesn’t like the optics of any Republicans voting against him. Ever.”

“Not that Trump cares, but this broadside is particularly poor congressional politics. If Trump just left the issue alone, voting against the tariffs would be a way for vulnerable GOP lawmakers to let off some steam and perhaps help their electoral prospects back home.”

Trump Lashes Out at GOP Governor

By Leave a Comment

“President Trump lashed out at a Republican governor organizing a coming White House meeting with state leaders, the latest example of the president attacking a member of his own party,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Trump’s target on Wednesday was Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, a Republican and chairman of the National Governors Association. In a social-media post, Trump disputed recent reports that he had limited invitations to next week’s White House meeting of the NGA to only Republican governors.”

Voters Say Biden Was Better

By Leave a Comment

“President Trump has become so politically toxic that voters now say Joe Biden — whose unpopularity forced him into early retirement — did a better job as president, according to three new polls,” Axios reports.

“One year in, Trump has squandered virtually every advantage that won him the presidency. The White House has nine months to turn the ship around before a potential midterm wipeout for Republicans.”

Trump Loses Young Men

By Leave a Comment

A new Third Way poll of male voters between the ages of 18 to 29 finds a whopping 58% believe Donald Trump has negatively impacted their finances, vs. just 23% who say he’s had a positive impact.

The young men gave Trump a dismal 32% approval rating, compared to 66% who disapprove. That 34-point gap is a far cry from Trump’s 2024 numbers: he won 18- to 29-year-old male voters by 14 points on his way back to the White House.

About Political Wire

goddard-bw-snapshotTaegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.

Praise for Political Wire

“There are a lot of blogs and news sites claiming to understand politics, but only a few actually do. Political Wire is one of them.”

— Chuck Todd, host of “Meet the Press”

“Concise. Relevant. To the point. Political Wire is the first site I check when I’m looking for the latest political nugget. That pretty much says it all.”

— Stuart Rothenberg, editor of the Rothenberg Political Report

“Political Wire is one of only four or five sites that I check every day and sometimes several times a day, for the latest political news and developments.”

— Charlie Cook, editor of the Cook Political Report

“The big news, delicious tidbits, pearls of wisdom — nicely packaged, constantly updated… What political junkie could ask for more?”

— Larry Sabato, Center for Politics, University of Virginia

“Political Wire is a great, great site.”

— Joe Scarborough, host of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe”

“Taegan Goddard has a knack for digging out political gems that too often get passed over by the mainstream press, and for delivering the latest electoral developments in a sharp, no frills style that makes his Political Wire an addictive blog habit you don’t want to kick.”

— Arianna Huffington, founder of The Huffington Post

“Political Wire is one of the absolute must-read sites in the blogosphere.”

— Glenn Reynolds, founder of Instapundit

“I rely on Taegan Goddard’s Political Wire for straight, fair political news, he gets right to the point. It’s an eagerly anticipated part of my news reading.”

— Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist.