This fall, several state legislative chambers throughout the country are up for grabs. Battleground seats in these states will be hotly contested, but there will be action going on in a lot of legislative chambers in November. Even in safe states and/or chambers, both parties will be fighting intensely for seats to maximize their influence, and potentially protect veto-override powers. Click here to see the next five races from Washington to Florida.

Late last year, Pivot Point spoke to a close observer of the civil war in Myanmar, Nicholas6284, just after the rebels had launched Operation 1027, for October 27th.  He will be referred to as only Nicholas because there is the potential of Junta violence towards him. We caught back up with Nicholas over the last month on Telegram to see where things stand now in the under covered civil war so often overshadowed by media in the United States covering the war in Ukraine and the Israel/Hamas war in Gaza.

Another Virginia poll has come out showing a close race, this time from Fox News with a 48%-48% tie in the head-to-head and 42%-41% Biden edge in a multi-candidate field. This comes on the heels of other recent polls which showed a close race in Virginia. There been some legitimate questions raised about these polls and why they might be off, such as the Fox News poll showing Trump winning 25% of Black voters. A Republican has never gotten this number in the modern era, and it’s hard to believe Trump really has that level of support right now in Virginia.

This fall, several state legislative chambers throughout the country are up for grabs. These seats will be hotly contested, but they aren’t the entire source of action. Even in safe states and/or chambers, both parties will be fighting intensely for seats to maximize their influence, and potentially protect veto-override powers. Click here for the first five Pivot Point is keeping a close eye on.

Today For the first time in nearly 20 years, a Senate race in Maryland appears to be contentious in both the primary and general elections. Prince George's County Executive Angela Alsobrooks and Rep. David Trone are facing off in an increasingly heated primary on the Democratic side, while former Governor Larry Hogan's entrance in the Republican primary has thrown a wrench into what would otherwise be a sleepy general election.

We all have a love/hate relationship with polls. The “Pollercoaster” can be exciting when it gives new numbers on the state of the race, but it also can be a wild ride given its unpredictable nature. Polls are one data point and can be important in understanding what’s happening if used correctly. Unfortunately, they are often misinterpreted, or worse, purposely misconstrued to push a narrative. Here are some tips about how to ride the pollercoaster and how they can be used in 2024.

Today is Michigan's presidential primary for both major parties, and in the state any voter can cast a ballot regardless in either primary because Michigan has no party registration. Neither winner is in question, but the Democratic Presidential Primary in particular has garnered national attention over a concerted movement to vote “Uncommitted” as a rebuke to President Biden and his handling of the Israel-Gaza war among other issues. 

This week, we may see Nikki Haley declare victory in the Nevada primary and there are probably going to be articles written about it that won’t tell the whole story in the headline. The Nevada Presidential Primary does not matter in the slightest for the GOP this year, only the Caucus does. For several years, it had been a Democratic legislative priority to get rid of the caucus, and in 2021 the Nevada Legislature passed a bill requiring each party to hold a primary. 

With the 2024 election cycle heating up, battleground states across America begin to draw attention from the masses, but perhaps none as notorious as Pennsylvania. The Keystone State finds itself in the spotlight again as a must-win state for both Democrats and Republicans. But this year, we have a double feature to watch. Indeed, not only is the race for the presidency at the top of the ballot, but we have a critically important Senate race as well, the first one taking place in a presidential year since 2016.

Much has been written about President Biden’s potential weakness in 2024, including among low propensity voters. But with Donald Trump looking increasingly like to win the Republican nomination, his own potential weaknesses could be an issue for the GOP. Specifically, Trump may be uniquely unpopular among independent voters who don’t identify with either of the two major political parties. In the closest states that will decide the winner in the Presidential election, these independents could be the ultimate deciding votes.

Despite Democratic successes with high propensity voters in recent elections, some have argued that Democrats have a problem with low propensity voters. The argument boils down to Democrats becoming the party of more educated voters who turn out every election, but that President Biden has a problem with less educated voters who only turn out in Presidential elections. As a result, recent Democratic electoral successes hides bigger problems Biden would have in 2024.