The Focus Group Podcast

One of the Republican Party's biggest long-term problems is that their base is demanding behavior that swing voters won't tolerate, and few things have brought out this gap better than Donald Trump's recent conviction. The Washington Post 's Isaac Arnsdorf joins Sarah to discuss what the MAGA base expects out of politicians these days, and how swing voters are reacting. show notes: Isaac Arnsdorf'...

When Donald Trump's 34 felony convictions were handed down, we had focus groups ready to talk about them. PBS Newshour 's Laura Barrón-López joins Sarah to listen to swing voters' reactions to Trump's conviction, and to the start of Hunter Biden's federal trial. show notes PBS Newshour: How Republican voters feel about Trump and the election after his conviction

We have five months to go until Election Day, and nobody's happy. So we're bringing you some catharsis. Jonathan V. Last joins Sarah to let out a primal scream and preview the home stretch of this presidential campaign through the lens of Trump '16/Biden '20 voters. This show is sponsored by BetterHelp. Focus Group Podcast listeners can get 10% off their first month at BetterHelp.com/thefocusgroup

North Carolina Republicans have nominated a candidate for governor who might be crazier than all of the Republicans who ran in 2022. And that's saying something. POLITICO's Zach Montellaro joins Sarah to walk through Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson's political rise, and how his supporters and GOP detractors feel about him. show notes: Zach Montellaro in POLITICO: The most important governor’s race of 2024...

2024's college graduates started their college careers with COVID, and ended them with encampments on most of their campuses. Tim Miller joins Sarah to discuss how America's youth have dealt with a turbulent few years, how they view the recent protests on their campuses, and their thoughts on November's election.

One of Sarah's favorite Republicans, former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, is running for the U.S. Senate. So how are Sarah, and her fellow Maryland voters thinking about this race? Former Maryland Lt. Governor (and RNC chairman) Michael Steele joins Sarah to discuss how left-leaning Marylanders who've voted for Hogan before are thinking about his Senate bid, and his Democratic challengers.

Donald Trump said that Nikki Haley's supporters would be "permanently barred" from the MAGA camp...and he's keeping that promise in the general election. Bulwark MAGA-world correspondent Marc Caputo joins Sarah to listen to Nikki Haley's base...those that are abandoning Trump in the general election, and those that are sticking with him.

Abortion has become a defining feature of the 2024 election in Arizona, and Arizona women know it. Yvonne Wingett Sanchez, Arizona-based democracy reporter for the Washington Post, joins Sarah to walk through the implications of the Arizona Supreme Court re-instituting an 1864 ban on abortion in the state. Editor's note: This show was taped before the Arizona House voted to repeal the ban on April...

Voters have gotten long looks at both Donald Trump and Joe Biden representing America on the world stage, so what did swing voters see? Bill Kristol joins Sarah to talk about the foreign policy stakes of the 2024 election, and how voters think about the War in Ukraine and America's role in it. This show was recorded before Iran's April 13-14 attack on Israel.

Some voters in recent Democratic primaries have been upset with Joe Biden's handling of the Israel-Hamas war. Whether and how he can bring them back onside in November is an open question. Pod Save America co-host Tommy Vietor joins Sarah to break down a small but critical part of the Democratic coalition, why they're upset, and what it could mean in November.

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is shaking up the presidential race...and no one knows what his impact is going to be. So we talked to former Trump voters and former Biden voters who are giving Kennedy a look. Astead Herndon, host of the New York Times politics podcast The Run-Up joins Sarah to discuss his recent interview with Kennedy and how the voters are thinking about him. Show Notes: The Run-Up: Don'...

The House recently passed a bill that could lead to a ban on TikTok in the U.S. It made for strange bedfellows (Lauren Boebert voted for it, and President Biden would sign it). It takes a lot to get them to agree…but the voters we talked to didn’t get the memo. Bulwark White House correspondent Andrew Egger joins Sarah to break down a weird and important debate in Washington.

Sarah's trying to convince former Trump voters to abandon him in November, through a campaign called Republican Voters Against Trump. It's a tall order, but luckily she's done it before. The Bulwark 's own Tim Miller, who was the political director of Republican Voters Against Trump in 2020, joins Sarah to discuss the theory behind RVAT and how anti-Trump forces can capitalize on recent good news...

The Republican primary for U.S. Senate in Ohio is heating up...unexpectedly. Cleveland-area businessman Bernie Moreno is on the ropes despite Trump's endorsement. And despite voters being mad about the Cleveland Guardians (née Indians) name change, a member of the ownership family is still in the ballgame (pun intended). NBC News senior political reporter and Ohio native Henry Gomez joins Sarah to...

Donald Trump is polling better with Black voters than he used to, so we fielded a focus group of Black voters who are warming up to him...after not voting for him in 2016 or 2020. Ashley Allison, former Biden-Harris campaign official and CNN commentator, joins Sarah to discuss why some Black voters are souring on the Democratic Party.

California's U.S. Senate race is a battle royal for small-dollar Democratic donors, between Reps. Adam Schiff and Katie Porter...but they're both boosting certain Republican candidates to gain an advantage in this race. California also has a governor who's scheming to run for president in 2028. Pod Save America 's Jon Favreau joins Sarah to discuss California's present Democratic stars and their f...

Nikki Haley is in YOLO mode as she faces down a loss in her home state of South Carolina, but her years-long tortured Trump two-step has caught up to her. The Atlantic's Tim Alberta joins Sarah to discuss his reporting on Haley through the years and ask a simple question: is this FINALLY her last straw with Trump? show notes By Tim Alberta: Nikki Haley's Time for Choosing The Kingdom, the Power, a...

Trump appears to be in the driver's seat to return to the White House. We could really use more two-time Trump voters who don't want to vote for him again. Fortunately, we found a group just like that! Jonathan V. Last joins Sarah to listen to two-time Trump voters who think "life's too short" for the anger of the Trump years, and to break down what else they do...and do not...think about the thre...

We're bringing you an update on the Republicans in Congress. We taped this BEFORE Republicans failed to impeach DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, failed to pass aid to Israel, and before the Senate's compromise on the border and foreign aid was blown up. Still, this show gives you a good window into what Republican voters expect from congressional leadership these days, and who is and is not measu...

Nevada has a GOP presidential primary AND a caucus. Donald Trump is going to win the caucus...but the primary is a race between Nikki Haley and "None of these Candidates." Jon Ralston of The Nevada Independent returns to break down the mess that is Nevada's presidential contest, and to preview the state's starring role in the general election.

Donald Trump is wrapping up the Republican nomination, despite 91 felony charges against him. One reason for that is that his voters don't seem to trust any unflattering news about him...and they're turning to sources you probably haven't heard of. Many of them feel like Fox News has gone "woke"...and we're going to ask them why. Brian Stelter, author of Network of Lies: The Epic Saga of Fox News,...

Nikki Haley is on the ropes after losing Iowa by 30 points, but there's one group of voters who could bail her out: New Hampshire's undeclared and moderate Republican voters. The problem? Even though they vote in Republican primaries sometimes, they hate Trump, they're pro-choice, and some watch MSNBC. Republican voters in all of the other states? Not so much.

Iowa's living legend of polling, J. Ann Selzer, joins Sarah to listen to Iowa Republicans ahead of the first-in-the-nation caucuses. Ann discusses her polling, how she does her own focus groups, and how Republican voters are feeling about Donald Trump (good), and the rest of the candidates (lukewarm at best). Ann also discusses how Donald Trump's efforts in Iowa are MUCH better organized in 2024 t...

To mark the three-year anniversary of the January 6 attack, we're doing something we've never done before. We're digging deep into our archives to play focus group clips from January 2021, right after the attacks, and showing how the voters have changed three years on. show notes: Rep. Kinzinger's new book: Renegade: Defending Democracy and Liberty in Our Divided Country Rep. Kinzinger's organizat...

Donald Trump has a huge lead in the Republican primaries...but Nikki Haley has managed to distinguish herself from the other afterthoughts in the field. GOP pollster Whit Ayres joins Sarah for the last episode of 2023 to recap the Republican presidential primary and chart out Nikki Haley's narrow path to the nomination. Hat-tip to Peter Hamby of Puck for the term ‘Haley Mary.’ https://puck.news/ha...