The Focus Group Podcast

S6 Ep58: Something's Happening in Texas (with Chris Hooks)

Against all odds, Democrats still have a chance in the Texas Senate race. So, is it because Ken Paxton is bad, or because of James Talarico's Nice Young Man energy? Turns

S6 Ep57: The GOP is MIA in North Carolina (with Chris Cooper)

North Carolina has been a difficult nut for Democrats to crack for nearly two decades. But relatively popular former Gov. Roy Cooper appears to be on the verge of changin

S6 Ep56: Why Ed Markey May Survive a Revolt Against Old Candidates (with Adam Reilly)

Why is 80-year-old Ed Markey surviving a Democratic revolt against aging politicians? Sarah Longwell and GBH’s Adam Reilly listen to Massachusetts voters explain why Rep.

S6 Ep55: Sarah Had to Double-Check: “These Are All Trump Voters?” (with Amy Walter)

Amy Walter returns to the pod for a pundit therapy session. She and Sarah discuss: A recent focus group of Georgia swing voters, and what they think of Sen. Jon Ossoff a

S6 Ep54: MAGA's Future is in Florida (with Will Sommer)

The battle lines of the next Republican primary are being drawn in Florida's Republican primary for governor. There's a 'MAGA Establishment' frontrunner running with Dona

S6 Ep53: South Carolina’s Surprise Election (with Meg Kinnard)

After Sen. Lindsey Graham’s passing in July, South Carolina is holding a special Republican primary to replace him as the nominee for U.S. Senate. His sister, Sen. Darlin

S6 Ep52: Jonathan Cohn: Pure Michigan Chaos

At the end of one of the most expensive Democratic primaries for Senate in American history, Abdul El-Sayed appears to be pulling away. We've been talking to Democratic p

S6 Ep51: Amy Walter: Pennsylvania's Trump-Shapiro Voters

In Pennsylvania, Gov. Josh Shapiro is on track for a pretty big win in November. And he can't do that without winning over a lot of former Trump voters, including the one

S6 Ep50: David French: Character Counts For Less

American politics and politicians are decidedly lower-character than they used to be. So, how did we get here? And why have voters seemingly lowered their expectations?

S6 Ep49: Tommy Vietor: Democrats’ Way Forward on Israel

Many Democratic primaries in 2026 have been hashing out America’s relationship with Israel, because Democratic voters' opinions of Israel have taken a nosedive the last t

S6 Ep48: Heather Cox Richardson: America's 250 Great (and Awful) Years

If you're wondering how (and whether) America is worth celebrating on this particular July 4th, this show will be a bit of a pep talk for you. Heather Cox Richardson join

S6 Ep47: Kyle Clark: Colorado's Mad Libs

Colorado isn't much of a swing state anymore, but we're covering its primaries anyway. Both of its senators and one longtime member of Congress are facing bigger headwind

S6 Ep46: Patrick Svitek: Texas & Maine Swing Voters Sound Off

Barrels of ink have been spilled about James Talarico, Ken Paxton, Graham Platner, and Susan Collins. For the first time, we're listening to how swing voters in Texas and

S6 Ep45: Rachel Janfaza: You Kids, Get Off My Lawn!

Gen Z swung hard for Trump in 2024. Now his approval with them is under 30%. What happened, and what does this generation’s mix of political views (especially on the war

S6 Ep44: Amy Walter: Everyone Is on the Take

Summer’s here, and Sarah’s taking a break from primary election coverage to take stock of the national political landscape. We haven’t talked to swing voters in a little

S6 Ep43: Peter Hamby: California Is The Progressive Id

Everyone loves to complain about how California is governed...even some of the Democrats in our focus groups. So, how is the Democratic primary to replace Gavin Newsom sh

S6 Ep42: Adam Jentleson: More Heterodoxy, Please

Sarah is sick and tired of the arguments about whether Democrats should move to the left or the center, because Democratic voters’ answers to this question overlap a lot

S6 Ep41: Greg Bluestein: Georgia's Root Canal Primary

Georgia's primaries for Governor and U.S. Senate have LOTS of things for political nerds (like you, dear listener) to chew on. But the Republican and Democratic voters we

S6 Ep40: Tim Miller: Good Riddance, Bill Cassidy?

This week's show has a rare note of agreement with our MAGA focus group participants. In Louisiana, Bill Cassidy is running for re-election to the Senate, and trying to p

S6 Ep39: Chuck Schumer’s Candidate Got Humiliated in Maine

In this bite-sized bonus Focus Group episode, Sarah Longwell breaks down the political earthquake in Maine after Janet Mills dropped out of the Senate race. Why are Democ