Tusk Strategies’ Post

Among the topics we discussed with M.L. Elrick on MichMash: Will Detroit voters elect a new mayor who is farther to the left?

Donald Trump won the 2024 U.S. presidential election, securing key battleground states, including Georgia, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania, to claim the presidency over Kamala Harris. This victory marks Trump’s return to the White House as the 47th President of the United States. The Republican ticket also successfully won the Senate, giving the GOP control over judicial and cabinet appointments. If you’re curious about how the media covers political figures like Trump and the impact of Sanewashing—where extreme behaviors are normalized in media narratives—check out our latest blog post by Delphine Gardiner. It delves into how media framing influences public perception and normalizes certain political behaviors. Read more on our Media Bias Detector dashboard: (https://lnkd.in/gqMxmSzG)

Though tomorrow’s American election is one of many in a year when half the world’s population is going to the polls, the United States is The Rockefeller Foundation’s home, where we have worked for 111 years, and the majority of our staff live and vote.    Today, tomorrow, and in the days to follow, RF will continue to stand up for the democratic systems, values, and norms—including non-violence—that unite so many in the United States and abroad. We are currently working with partners to help protect voting access, safeguard election systems, increase civic engagement, and combat misinformation—and this work will continue regardless of this election’s outcome.   The Foundation, which is non-partisan, does not support any candidate, we do support the democratic process. As votes are cast and counted, we urge all parties to condemn violence in all its forms and commit to respecting democratic processes, including a peaceful transfer of power, this year and the years ahead.

Some interesting results come through in the slides in addition to what Brian highlights below. I found the responses on where people get their news from insightful.

As the Democratic Party grapples with its sweeping electoral loss and a new political reality, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont has been resolute about his diagnosis of where the party went wrong. “There was no appreciation — no appreciation — of the struggling and the suffering of millions and millions of working-class people,” the senator said. Bernie Sanders stands out for his consistency in addressing the middle-class crisis in America. The issue isn’t a lack of evidence but rather the Democratic Party’s focus on college-educated voters and elite-level strategies disconnected from working-class realities. While there’s potential for change if the party learns from its mistakes, current behavior suggests otherwise. The Democratic establishment appears more interested in shifting blame externally instead of acknowledging its failures, risking further alienation of key voter segments and reducing its chances for future electoral success. https://lnkd.in/grSkptXi

https://lnkd.in/ebEhyqwW MY LATEST: The overriding questions for Democrats whether they can move beyond blaming personalities (Biden and Harris), consider fundamental issues and reshape the party to address them. For the Republicans, the question is whether it can accomplish most of the ambitious agenda Donald Trump has promised. He has pulled off the most astounding political comeback in American political history. Now, can he pull off a successful administration?

Congress is on recess until November, but the stakes for Election Day couldn’t be higher. With just 36 days to go, here’s what you need to know about the shifting political landscape: Republicans are on track to retake control of the Senate, marking the end of Mitch McConnell’s nearly two-decade tenure as GOP Senate leader. A new Republican majority leader could be in place for the first time in 20 years. West Virginia and Montana, long held by Democrats, are poised to flip to Republican control. Ohio is on the brink, and while Democrats are making a late push in Florida and Texas, success has been elusive in recent years. The real questions left: How big will the Republican majority be, and what will they do with it? Get the full breakdown by reading The Tally today: https://lnkd.in/erZwifdD

Censorship is alive and well

Arizona election officials are facing unprecedented threats and harassment, causing immense turnover during a critical election year. Leadership Now Arizona, a cross-partisan group of Arizona business executives and community leaders, has released an open letter supporting election officials. The letter asks "our colleagues and peers, along with our state’s elected officials, to stand with us, support election officials across the state, call out election denialism where we see it, and commit to efforts that defend our democracy from further attack." In support of the letter, two Leadership Now Arizona members and CEOs, John Fees and Adam Goodman, published an op-ed Saturday in The Arizona Republic | azcentral.com | La Voz. “A healthy, functioning democracy is the cornerstone of a strong economy,” they write. "Political violence and election uncertainty can disrupt employee productivity, hinder consumer spending, and create government dysfunction, directly affecting business operations and stability." Read the open letter at https://lnkd.in/ePMKydhs #democracy #2024election #LeadershipNowArizona