The Winston Group

06/22/2026

The economy has stumbled throughout the conflict with Iran, and Republican leads on the economy have eroded. But our trending numbers show slippage on economic issue handling started last year. Our newest numbers confirm this trend.

As Republicans have encountered difficulty on economic issues that have been their strength,Democrats are hoping for a Blue Wave this fall.

06/17/2026

The findings from the latest NAEP Long Term Trends were a mixed bag: some real improvements for younger students but not for older students.

Our analysis looks at the learning loss context, and how far students are from their pre-Covid baseline.

The findings from Wednesday’s release of the latest NAEP Long Term Trends data were a mixed bag. On the one hand, nine year olds posted some real improvements

06/10/2026

In his column today for Roll Call, The Winston Group's David Winston considers the rising power of independents in national politics, and the indisputable clout they wield. Data from the most recent Winning the Issues survey shows they are not happy, particularly with the economy.

I’m always astonished when I hear political consultants cling to the notion that winning majorities in the House and the Senate is only about turning out the base. Neither party — neither MAGA nor the progressive left — have the numbers to make that claim anymore. For the doubters out there, a...

06/08/2026

Independents are key in deciding elections, and a growing voter group. In the 2024 election, independents surpassed Democrats as a percentage of the electorate nationally and in 5 out of 7 competitive presidential states.

But who are they? In their latest analysis, The Winston Group's David Winston
and Myra Miller dive into the data to understand more about this critical voter group.

We talk about independent voters on a frequent basis, and one of the questions we get most often is about understanding who independents are. In recent

06/05/2026

This week from the Winston Group:

-With Ken Paxton’s victory in the TX runoff, David Winston and Myra Miller offer their take on the state’s voting history and what it will take for Republicans to hold this Senate seat.
https://www.winstongroup.net/2026/06/01/texas-senate-tip-sheet-what-will-it-take-for-republicans-to-hold/

-Caitlin Peartree and David Winston argue that critical thinking is the outcome of sustained study over a full breadth of subjects, which is exactly the broad-based, liberal arts education Yale described in its recent report on trust in higher ed.
https://www.educationnext.org/yale-report-and-value-of-liberal-arts-critical-thinking-public-trust-higher-education/

- David Winston takes on the DNC 2024 autopsy and outlines the six questions the report should have addressed.
https://rollcall.com/2026/06/03/an-autopsy-of-the-dnc-campaign-autopsy/

For more analysis, visit winstongroup.net.

06/04/2026

The DNC finally released its 2024 autopsy. It needed a candid after-action report, but what it got was an incomplete post-mortem that failed to get to the heart of what worked, what didn’t and why.

In his latest for column for Roll Call the Winston Group's David Winston draws on his experience producing after-action reports to outline six questions on politics and policy the DNC should have addressed.

After weeks of stalling, Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin finally released the long-awaited campaign autopsy to nearly universal bad reviews. What the DNC needed was a candid after-action report. What they got was an extraordinarily incomplete post-mortem that fails to get to t...

06/02/2026

In a new piece for Education Next, the Winston Group's David Winston and Caitlin Peartree consider the recent report on trust in higher education from Yale University and examine the importance of the kind of broad-based, liberal arts education that institutions like Yale provide for gaining prized skills like critical thinking.

At a minimum, colleges should be delivering a broad-based education that fosters critical thinking to restore public trust in higher ed

06/01/2026

With Ken Paxton’s victory in the Texas GOP runoff, The Winston Group's David Winston and Myra Miller look at the state's voting history and what it will take for Republicans to hold this Senate seat.

With Ken Paxton’s victory in the Texas GOP runoff, this week we look at the vote history in the state and what it will take for Republicans to hold this

05/26/2026

In the latest CPI report, inflation ticked up to 3.8%, the highest since May 2023. While the White House reaction is that these numbers are temporary, Republicans should be prepared for Democrats to start using the inflation reports agains them.

There are five more inflation reports before the November election. These reports will play key roles in how the electorate evaluates progress on the economy.

In the last CPI report released last week, year-over-year inflation ticked up to 3.8% — the highest CPI of President Trump’s term. This is the highest CPI

05/19/2026

In the conversation about student achievement, one important element is the experience of students before they ever enter a classroom. The early childhood years are a crucial window for brain development and other important skills.

Research conducted by The Winston Group on behalf of The Clapham Group earlier this year looked at several proposals aimed to help families with cost of living in those critical early years.

In the larger conversation about student achievement and outcomes, one important element is the experience of students before they ever enter a classroom. The