The Electorette Podcast

Kansas may be a reliably Republican state, but its voters have elected Democratic governors and rejected efforts to restrict abortion rights. Now, with Governor Laura Kelly term-limited, the race to succeed her carries consequences far beyond the state's borders. In this episode of The Margin, Jen Taylor-Skinner speaks with Kansas state senator and Democratic candidate for governor Cindy Holscher...

Road to November 2026 — NewDEAL Leaders With the 2026 midterms approaching, what are voters actually looking for from Democrats—and are candidates listening? In this episode of The Margin, host Jen Taylor-Skinner speaks with Debbie Cox Bultan, CEO of NewDEAL Leaders, a national network of Democratic state and local elected officials, about the organization's Road to November 2026 messaging guide,...

Are Republicans trying to keep Donald Trump away from the campaign trail—even in his home state? Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried joins Jennifer Taylor-Skinner on The Margin to discuss the 2026 midterms, Trump's influence on Republican candidates, and the race to replace Governor Ron DeSantis. Fried says she's hearing that Florida Republicans are urging the White House to limit Trump's c...

With the 2026 midterm elections just weeks away, what does political desperation look like—and how far might an administration go to hold on to power? In this episode of The Margin, Jennifer Taylor-Skinner is joined by political analyst and scholar Dr. James Peterson for a wide-ranging conversation about the Pentagon's controversial plan to livestream an execution, its timing ahead of the midterms...

The leaders of Intersections for Our Lives — Christina Baal Owens, Regina Davis Moss, and Lupe Rodriguez — join The Margin to discuss a new national study examining the priorities, concerns, and political outlook of women of color. The survey found deep anxiety around affordability, healthcare, economic security, and the future of the American Dream. Among its findings: three in five women of colo...

The Maryland governor on ICE, AI guardrails, and governing beyond the base Maryland Governor Wes Moore joins The Margin for a conversation about the power—and the limits—of state government as the 2026 midterms approach. The interview begins with election security. Moore responds to attacks on Maryland’s election administration and discusses threats to send federal agents to polling places, arguin...

Dr. James Peterson of WURD Radio on the political legacy of 9/11, the GOP’s unusual midterm convention, Trump’s $5,000 promise, and the road to November. Twenty-five years after 9/11, what does this moment mean to an electorate increasingly too young to remember it? This week on The Margin, Jen Taylor-Skinner is joined by Dr. James Peterson, host of Evening WURDs on WURD Radio, to break down some...

ACLU Deputy Director Ming-Qi Chu on the Trump administration’s latest effort to gut Head Start—and the larger agenda behind it. The Trump administration is taking aim at Head Start, the 60-year-old program that provides early education, healthcare, nutrition, and other critical services to low-income children and their families. Jen talks with Ming-Qi Chu, deputy director of the ACLU’s Women’s Rig...

Skye Perryman on reclaiming our power ahead of the midterms In this episode of The Margin, a special midterm election series from The Electorette and URL Media, Jen Taylor-Skinner speaks with Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward and author of Ordinary People, Extraordinary Times. Perryman discusses the erosion of democratic guardrails, why Americans need “information sobriety” in...

Daniella Mestyanek Young grew up in the Children of God, left at fifteen, and went on to become a U.S. Army intelligence officer. She has spent her career since studying how high-control groups are built — and arguing that the tactics are the same whether the group is a commune, a military unit, or a political movement. In this conversation she and Jen Taylor-Skinner examine what separates a polit...

ICE raids often make headlines. But what happens after an arrest receives far less attention. In this episode, LA Public Press reporter Martín Macías, Jr. takes listeners inside what advocates describe as the "hidden" side of the deportation system: immigration courtrooms, where volunteer observers say due process is increasingly difficult to access and deportation cases are moving at an accelerat...

Five years ago this month, Haitian President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated inside his own home by a group of foreign mercenaries. His wife survived. The president's phone disappeared. Prosecutors were threatened. And, five years later, no one has been brought to trial in Haiti. In this conversation, journalist Macollvie J. Neel takes listeners back to the night of July 7, 2021, explains what inve...

Ten years after filing the lawsuit that brought down Roger Ailes and ignited a national conversation about workplace sexual harassment, Gretchen Carlson joins The Electorette to reflect on what has—and hasn't—changed. In this conversation, Gretchen discusses the lasting personal cost of speaking out, why she says she still doesn't fully own her voice, the creation of Lift Our Voices, the fight to...

Months before Graham Platner ended his campaign, EMILY's List publicly warned Democrats that nominating him would make it harder—not easier—to defeat Senator Susan Collins. In this episode, Jen Taylor-Skinner sits down with Jessica Mackler, president of EMILY's List, to discuss what the organization knew at the time, why it believed Platner was the wrong candidate to take on Collins, and what this...

(Archive Episode) Long before today's debates over Supreme Court legitimacy, ethics, and reform dominated the headlines, The Electorette explored one of the central questions facing American democracy: How do we fix the Supreme Court? In this archival conversation, host Jen Taylor-Skinner sits down with Meagan Hatcher-Mays to discuss one of the most debated reform proposals—expanding the Supreme C...

As America approaches its 250th anniversary, Rebekah Caruthers, President and CEO of Fair Elections Center, joins The Margin to examine why this moment may be the most consequential for American democracy since Reconstruction. Using the All Roads Lead South march in Selma, Alabama, as a starting point, this conversation explores why today's fight for voting rights feels fundamentally different—and...

A timely re-release exploring the history behind one of the Supreme Court's most consequential constitutional questions. With the Supreme Court poised to issue a landmark ruling on birthright citizenship, I'm re-releasing one of the most important conversations we've had on the subject. In this episode, historian Martha S. Jones discusses her groundbreaking book, Birthright Citizens: A History of...

For generations, Black women have been among the most influential voices in the fight to expand American democracy. Yet many of their stories have been overlooked—or erased altogether. In this episode, political strategist, organizer, and author Atima Omara joins me to discuss her new book, The Instigators, which traces the legacy of Black women who challenged injustice, organized their communitie...

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson joins The Margin to discuss her campaign for governor and the challenges facing Michigan—from housing affordability and economic growth to protecting voting rights in an increasingly polarized political climate. Benson reflects on defending Michigan's 2020 election in the face of election denialism, explains why she believes states must step in as federal...

Taylor Jung on how Zohran Mamdani uses media, messaging, and policy to shape public perception Zohran Mamdani has been mayor of New York City for less than a year, but his influence already extends far beyond the five boroughs. In this episode of The Margin, Taylor Jung, a journalist with Epicenter NYC, joins host Jen Taylor-Skinner to discuss Mamdani's first months in office, the excitement surro...

Just one year after Zohran Mamdani's rise to City Hall, New York City voters are headed into one of the most consequential primary elections of the 2026 cycle. With more than 200 offices on the ballot, the results could reveal whether the coalition that helped propel Mamdani to victory—a multiracial alliance of young voters, immigrants, and progressives—has the power to reshape New York politics f...

One of the most common—and least examined—words in politics is authenticity. We hear it constantly when discussing candidates, campaigns, and electability. But who gets to be seen as authentic? And are all candidates judged by the same standard? In this episode of The Margin, Jen Taylor-Skinner speaks with political strategist Maya Rupert, author of The Real Ones: How to Disrupt the Hidden Ways Ra...

The Wisconsin Senate Democratic Leader on childcare, affordability, and the fight over Trump's anti-weaponization fund. Wisconsin is once again at the center of American politics. In this episode of The Margin, Wisconsin Senate Democratic Leader Diane Hesselbein joins me to discuss her effort to prevent taxpayer dollars from being used to compensate January 6 insurrectionists and fake electors thr...

The Supreme Court recently preserved access to mifepristone, the medication used in nearly two-thirds of abortions in the United States. But according to Julia Kaye, Senior Staff Attorney with the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project, the legal battle over medication abortion is far from over. In this episode of The Electorette, Kaye explains the ongoing Louisiana v. FDA litigation, why anti-abortion...

Connecticut is taking a different approach. While many states have moved to restrict access to the ballot, Connecticut expanded voting access by passing its own John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act and implementing no-excuse absentee voting. At the same time, state leaders have found themselves responding to federal immigration enforcement, protecting access to schools and public services, and addressi...