Like a swimmer caught in a rip-tide, I need to stop fighting this election and start going with it. I have spent most of this year trying to explain why things aren’t working out the way they are “supposed” to work. Instead, I need to appreciate the fluid and unprecedented nature of this election. This doesn’t mean that I throw out all I know and have learned over the years about campaign and elections. What it does mean is that I can’t keep trying to shove new and sometimes contradictory information into the same old formula. With that in mind, I have outlined the biggest questions and challenges ahead for those of us trying to make sense of this campaign - as well as the hurdles for the two nominees. 1. The establishment is dead, long live the establishment.

Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders have exposed some important truths in this campaign. First, the so-called party elites are less important than ever. There was a time when only the party or those closely tied to it had access to donor

More from the Cook Political Report

Archives1984-2022
Free
CPR Archives
dw