On the Election Returns, A Conversation with Public-Opinion Analyst Bruce Stokes

Summary

How can the 2026 midterm elections in the U.S. be interpreted, from a public-opinion standpoint? I talk about this with Bruce Stokes, a visiting senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund and formerly a public-opinion analyst at the Pew Research Center. We talk about the potential for bipartisanship in Congress, the tendency for voters not to identify with either major party, and attitudes on issues including the U.S. relationship with Israel. We also touch on public-opinion sentiments in Europe as right-wing candidates like Marine Le Pen come to the fore.

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Paul Starobin

Veteran journalist Paul Starobin is a former Moscow bureau chief for Business Week and a former contributing editor of The Atlantic. His companion Substack newsletter, America and Beyond,” offers commentary and insights on the podcast. He has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal and many other publications. His most recent book is Putin’s Exiles: Their Fight for a Better Russia (Columbia Global Reports, 2024).

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