Charting the Way Forward

In this week's consideration of various aspects of The Juice, Way to Win President Tory Gavito, DJ/Consultant of Destiny Dan Ancona and Superhost Kerry Eleveld discuss the gutting of the VRA, Platner's shocking flanking of the Dem establishment in Maine, and a fun approach from another upstart candidate running for the seat previously held by Nancy Pelosi.

This week’s show is a swan dive into tough terrain for Dems with fresh, innovative battleground polling. Way to Win worked with Impact Research and Lake Research to zero in on messages that move gettable voters in conservative South and Southwest battleground states and districts. Trump’s catastrophic failure on the economy has unlocked the door for Dems; with focus and effort, they may be able to...

Democratic rising star Rep. Yassamin Ansari joins host Kerry Eleveld to discuss the Las Vegas launch of the Affordability Listening Tour, sponsored by the Way to Win and members of Congressional Progressive Caucus. Next up: Houston and Phoenix!

Todd Zimmer of Down Home North Carolina joins host Kerry Eleveld and Way to Win Chief Strategy Officer Jenifer Fernandez Ancona for an update from the front lines of one of the spiciest battleground states this cycle.

Way to Win President Tory Gavito and Political Director Joe Hamill join host Kerry Eleveld to cover this week's wild swings in American democracy, including a LOT of electoral good news.

Strategist, superstar organizer and Black Voters Matter co-founder LaTosha Brown joins host Kerry Eleveld and Way to Win President Tory Gavito to continue a guaranteed-inspirational discussion that Tory and LaTosha started at the Edmund Pettus Selma Bridge Crossing Jubilee in early March of this year.

Way to Win star consultant Dan Ancona hosts a conversation with NIH neuroscientist and superactivist Mark Histed (speaking in his personal capacity, not as a representative of the agency) about the attacks on science under this administration, the changes and degradation in media that got him involved and got all of us to this point, and what may possibly be our nerdiest three media things ever.

Host Kerry Eleveld, Way to Win Chief Strategy Officer Jenifer Fernandez Ancona, and Star Consultant Dan Ancona get together to talk who was cooking this week (James Talarico, Jon Ossoff, Kat Abughazaleh and whichever ad firm that made Cornyn's most recent ad) and who was cooked (Ken Paxton, Trump, and everyone else dragging us into this idiotic, racist war).

Terrance Woodbury from HIT Strategies presents Black Opps, their deep research project on understanding why Black voters have been super motivated but less willing to publicly protest the Trump administration. He joins host Kerry Eleveld, President Tory Gavito and Chief Strategist Jenifer Fernandez Ancona to unpack and discuss what they found. Please read more and follow Terrance's work here:...

G. Elliott Morris has been putting up banger after banger of polls, studies and analyses at Strength in Numbers. Host Kerry Eleveld and Strategist Dan Ancona invited him to come by the show and discuss a couple recent standouts: how Democrats biggest problem is being seen as too weak, not too liberal, philosophies of writing good survey questions, and a little on Texas.

Host Kerry Eleveld has on Way to Win Texas experts President Tory Gavito and  Political Director Joe Hamill for a short discussion of the seismic shifts happening in Texas, as viewed through the lens of yesterday's high energy and very high vibe primary election.

A little tweak to our format this week: Host Kerry Eleveld is joined by President Tory Gavito and Chief Strategy Officer Jenifer Fernandez Ancona to go over some clips of the public figures who did great and... less great this week. They dig into some of the best bits of Spanberger's out-of-nowhere surprise fantastic State of the Union Response, some of the strong stuff Jon Ossoff has been sl...

"There is no one in charge anymore. That is both incredibly scary and part of why the last year has felt so discombobulating for so many people, but it is also so freeing. We have this incredible opportunity to reshape where we want the party to go, to reimagine the future." - Run for Something's Amanda Litman, who joins host Kerry Eleveld and Way to Win President Tory Gavito for th...

In our long odyssey encouraging Democrats to update their thinking, we have been lucky to find allies doing fantastic and deep work in specific issue areas. Insha Rahman, the Vera Institute's VP of Advocacy and Partnerships, is one such wonderful expert. She joins host Kerry Eleveld and Way to Win Chief Strategy Officer Jenifer Ancona for a critical conversation about how Dems can sharpen the...

The results of last Saturday's special election in Texas Senate District SD-09 are still sending shockwaves out through the state and nationally. Host Kerry Eleveld and two of the biggest Texas experts we know, Way to Win President Tory Gavito and Political Director Joe Hamill, break down the huge swings away from right wing MAGA extremism.

Indivisible head Leah Greenberg joins host Kerry Eleveld and Way to Win President Tory Gavito for an urgent conversation on moving Democrats to maximal opposition, our current best chance at stopping ICE.

In the past few weeks, abolishing ICE has become an unambiguous and urgent moral imperative. Democrats aren't used to winning arguments like this but stopping the ongoing harassment and terror of our own communities by agents of the government we pay for has become such an urgent priority that for many voters, the legitimacy of our political system is at stake. Join host Kerry Eleveld, Way to...

Happy 2026 everyone! We're back with an episode on Way to Win's conventional wisdom shattering research summary that went out last December. By focusing on the time honored tradition of talking to voters we came to some conclusions that are very different from the story the DC establishment has about what happened in 2024 and where voters are at as we head into this midterm year. Host Ke...

Secretaries of State are on the front lines of protecting our democracy, and next year their jobs are going to be particularly difficult and crucial. This interview with Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar will give you a sense of the honesty and integrity he approaches his job with, joining host Kerry Eleveld and Way to Win President Tory Gavito in a discussion that will leave you appreciatin...

IT’S OUR 50TH EPISODE! And who better to celebrate it with than OG Friend of the Pod Terrance Woodbury of HIT Strategies. Join us for a look back at where we started the year, how Democrats are positioned as we approach 2026, and the transformative opportunity staring us in the face. Let's put a bow on it!

In this episode of Charting the Way Forward, guest host Maddie Medved sits down with political content creator Sylvia Salazar, founder of the bilingual platform Tono Latino. They unpack how she cuts through the noise to reach Latino audiences, blends persuasion with virality, and lives her motto that “action is the antidote to news anxiety” - all while navigating the emotional toll and real-world...

Continuing our series on understanding the November 2025 elections and how things became a tiny bit less doomy,  host Kerry Eleveld and Way to Win Chief Strategy Officer Jenifer Ancona are joined by Melody Oliphant of the GA Youth Justice Coalition, who breaks down and goes deep into the epic and surprising Georgia results. Stay tuned to the end for a solid hate listen podcast recommendation!

Host Kerry Eleveld brings together the in-house team for insights into last week's history-upending election results, with Way to Win President Tory Gavito, Political Director Joe Hamill and media and research consultant Dan Ancona.

More focus group sound this week, this time from Democratic defector voters in Nevada, and two fantastic guests: Diana Valles, President of the Culinary Workers Union Local 226 and Way to Win Director of State Partnerships Kendra Alvarez. Diana and Kendra join host Kerry Eleveld to explore how the right wing social experiment is hurting people and how we can work together to fix it.

New focus group sound this week! We talked to Democratic defectors in AZ and NV, and had Casey Clowes from Progress AZ on to help host Kerry Eleveld and Way to Win President Tory Gavito sort through it all. Trust us: you are going to want to hear these clips, and you can find Casey on all socials at caseyclowesaz.