How Trump-Endorsed Candidates Performed, America's Divided Politics, and More

November 7, 2018

After midterms, America remains deeply divided

After an election in which both Democrats and Republicans can declare victories, the likelihood that both parties will believe they have a mandate to continue business as usual is quite high, writes Elaine Kamarck. In other words, she warns, Americans should expect at least two more years of gridlock, dysfunction, and polarization.

U.S. President Donald Trump shakes hands with Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Mike Braun during a campaign rally at Southport High School in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. November 2, 2018. REUTERS/Carlos Barria - RC1E86AB4B90

Trump endorsed 75 congressional candidates. How did they do?

Elaine Kamarck

Brookings researchers kept track of all congressional candidates who were endorsed by Donald Trump, Mike Pence, Barack Obama, Joe Biden, or Bernie Sanders. President Trump's candidates fared the worst with only 28 percent winning their elections. By comparison, more than 50 percent of candidates endorsed by Obama won.

FILE PHOTO: L-R: U.S. Democratic congressional candidate Amy McGrath of Kentucky, Republican U.S. Senate candidate Martha McSally of Arizona, Democratic congressional candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Democratic candidate for Governor Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan are shown in this combination photo from Reuters files. REUTERS/File Photos - RC1ADA9D8480

2018: Another ‘Year of the Woman’

Elaine Kamarck

With 255 women appearing on congressional ballots in 2018, women played a bigger role in this year's election than any other in American history. Elaine Kamarck discusses the women who will be joining the 119th Congress, their likely impact on policy, and the voters who helped send them there.

Quoted

“

The number of people resigning under pressure [from the Trump White House] far exceeds that of any other administration. The turnover makes it that much more difficult to implement your agenda, when you’re constantly hiring and rehiring and having to train and retrain people.”

November 5, 2018 | Kathryn Dunn Tenpas, The Washington Post

Upcoming Events

Bit player: My life with presidents and ideas (a book discussion with Stephen Hess)
Tuesday, November 13, 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM EST

Stay Connected

	Sign up for other Brookings newsletters
	Brookings RSS Feeds
	Brookings on Facebook
	Governance Studies on Twitter