Sarah Longwell

And the thing that you hear from these sort of not super political, the not super mega voters is they're just like, I want something done about the economy. And JBL and I do have this fight all the time about, he's like, the economy's good and this is all just fives and it's BS.

And the thing that you hear from these sort of not super political, the not super mega voters is they're just like, I want something done about the economy. And JBL and I do have this fight all the time about, he's like, the economy's good and this is all just fives and it's BS.

And I get really mad at him because I say, I don't know, man, all I do is listen to people talk about the real trade-offs in their lives. They know exactly how much everything at the grocery store is. And it's not just like a talking point about groceries or gas, whatever. People's cost of living is the place where politics meets their lives. And it is an enormous impact on them.

And I get really mad at him because I say, I don't know, man, all I do is listen to people talk about the real trade-offs in their lives. They know exactly how much everything at the grocery store is. And it's not just like a talking point about groceries or gas, whatever. People's cost of living is the place where politics meets their lives. And it is an enormous impact on them.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I am certain that it's real. And I think that it has been tough for Washington to like catch up to. And honestly, I don't understand why this is so hard for even like JVL or Democrats to understand because we've been talking about people, Democrats have been talking about income inequality for forever. Yeah.

I am certain that it's real. And I think that it has been tough for Washington to like catch up to. And honestly, I don't understand why this is so hard for even like JVL or Democrats to understand because we've been talking about people, Democrats have been talking about income inequality for forever. Yeah.

So like maybe what's happening is that, yes, some people are doing well in this economy and that the macro economy can be well, while there's still a group of people who are falling further and further behind and sort of a middle-ish class tier that is finding the level of inflation to be really having a dramatic impact on their life.

So like maybe what's happening is that, yes, some people are doing well in this economy and that the macro economy can be well, while there's still a group of people who are falling further and further behind and sort of a middle-ish class tier that is finding the level of inflation to be really having a dramatic impact on their life.

So those voters are very interesting to me because I think those are the ones who easily either could swing back in 26 or... even if they're low propensity and maybe aren't big midterm voters, they're the kinds of people that like they're just they're not like a firm part of the Trump Republican coalition. They're just mad about prices.

So those voters are very interesting to me because I think those are the ones who easily either could swing back in 26 or... even if they're low propensity and maybe aren't big midterm voters, they're the kinds of people that like they're just they're not like a firm part of the Trump Republican coalition. They're just mad about prices.

And they're also and what they're saying right now is why is he doing this other stuff and not focusing on prices? Yeah. And so like that to me is a real opportunity for anybody who wants to disrupt sort of the broader Trump coalition is to say, hey, he's not focused enough on this. And you can see it in the polling too.

And they're also and what they're saying right now is why is he doing this other stuff and not focusing on prices? Yeah. And so like that to me is a real opportunity for anybody who wants to disrupt sort of the broader Trump coalition is to say, hey, he's not focused enough on this. And you can see it in the polling too.

It has been almost, I don't know if axiomatic is the right word, but it has been a truism that sort of Trump equals good economy. Like people kind of have this vague sense, Trump, businessman, good economy. That's why he was elected. And now- His net positive rating on the economy, people are like, you're not paying enough attention to it.

It has been almost, I don't know if axiomatic is the right word, but it has been a truism that sort of Trump equals good economy. Like people kind of have this vague sense, Trump, businessman, good economy. That's why he was elected. And now- His net positive rating on the economy, people are like, you're not paying enough attention to it.

And that's what we hear in the focus groups from this group. And that's what I was listing is all the people who are like, I don't know, inflation is still really bad for me. Maybe it's even getting worse. So like the tariff stuff scares me or prices are getting worse. And he seems to be doing all this other stuff. He's not focused on this. So I think that is an opportunity.

And that's what we hear in the focus groups from this group. And that's what I was listing is all the people who are like, I don't know, inflation is still really bad for me. Maybe it's even getting worse. So like the tariff stuff scares me or prices are getting worse. And he seems to be doing all this other stuff. He's not focused on this. So I think that is an opportunity.

So that's the other bucket. And then there's a third bucket, which is the Dems who are feeling very depressed. They are, I think, desperate for a leader like the absence of and I mean, I heard this before, too. I think a lot of the frustration with Biden and his age that I heard from specifically from Democrats was just around the fact that, like, he couldn't fight effectively because of that.

So that's the other bucket. And then there's a third bucket, which is the Dems who are feeling very depressed. They are, I think, desperate for a leader like the absence of and I mean, I heard this before, too. I think a lot of the frustration with Biden and his age that I heard from specifically from Democrats was just around the fact that, like, he couldn't fight effectively because of that.