American politics

Democracy in America

Analysis of American politics, in the spirit of Alexis de Tocqueville’s eponymous study of American society

Time for a Gang of Four?

The fifth Democratic primary debate showed that a cull is overdue

Thinning out the field of Democrats could focus minds on the way to Iowa’s caucuses

The great Kentucky horse race

The election for Kentucky’s governor will be a referendum on Donald Trump

Matt Bevin, the unpopular incumbent, hopes to survive a formidable challenge by aligning himself with the president

Filling the void

A state court blocks North Carolina’s Republican-friendly map

The gerrymandering fix could help Democrats keep the House in 2020

The Ukraine affair

A soldier’s word against Donald Trump’s in impeachment inquiry

Testimony from Alexander Vindman, a decorated veteran, is hard to trash as partisan sniping

Third-party anxieties

Why Democrats are talking about Tulsi Gabbard

The low-polling presidential candidate has caused a stir

Polls apart

Americans’ views on impeachment mirror the president’s approval ratings

The current depths of partisanship are unprecedented

Striking a chord

How long will the mayor of Chicago stand up to the teachers’ union?

Children in America’s third-largest school system get another day off

Firing off

How Beto O’Rourke has helped America’s gun lobby

The Democrat’s plan to confiscate assault weapons has given his party a headache

Asylum rights

The justices will rule on a battle over fast-track deportations

The Supreme Court case comes as the Trump administration tries to deport more immigrants more quickly

The impeachment inquiry

Undermining Donald Trump’s Ukraine defence

Mick Mulvaney and Gordon Sondland fill in the gaps on the quid pro quo

The 2020 presidential race

Democratic candidates get the knives out for Elizabeth Warren

But she parried effectively in the largest and most substantive debate of the campaign so far

Turning away the poor

Courts block a rule to keep out low-income immigrants

Uncertainty surrounds Donald Trump’s new crackdown on legal immigration