The Focus Group Podcast

Folks: it’s primary season! The Ohio U.S. Senate primary is tomorrow, and it’s been…less than nice. Two candidates had to be physically separated at a recent debate. Now, Trump has picked his horse in the race…listen to hear what the voters think of the Trump endorsement and whether the most insane things the candidates are saying are crossing people’s radars (spoiler alert: no). Sarah breaks it all down with Dave Weigel of The Washington Post, who’s been on the trail in Ohio during the home stretch.

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In 2024, we may be re-running the 2020 election with two very unpopular and very old candidates. Seems like a good time for a viable third party option, right?

Former presidential candidate and founder of the Forward Party Andrew Yang joins Sarah to listen to some focus group clips about third parties, talk about the challenges a third party faces, and whether it’s even a good idea.

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Supreme Court nominations are polarizing nowadays, and President Biden’s nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson was no exception. Dr. Ted Johnson of The Bulwark joins Sarah to discuss how voters reacted to Jackson (and to President Biden pledging ahead of time to pick a black woman for the seat). They also discuss why conversations about race in this country can get real unproductive real fast.

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Joe Biden’s approval rating is around 42%. That didn’t happen without Biden losing some of his own voters.

Sarah sits down with President Obama’s former White House press secretary, Robert Gibbs to listen to some Biden voters talk about the state of the country and the Biden presidency. They also discuss how (and whether) Biden and Democrats might salvage their political fortunes in the 2022 elections.

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Most of the GOP hasn’t responded to the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol with much courage.

But our guest has.

This week, Sarah talks with Rep. Adam Kinzinger about our focus groups’ reactions to the attacks (including the conspiracy theories) and whether they think President Trump was responsible. They also discuss the work of the January 6th Committee (of which Kinzinger and Liz Cheney are the only Republican members), and the cost of doing the right thing even when it’s unpopular.

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Donald Trump convinced about a third of the country that the 2020 election was rigged - this is commonly referred to as the “Big Lie.” It sure seems like a problem to Sarah.

Ben Ginsberg, former legal counsel to the presidential campaigns of George W. Bush and Mitt Romney, joins Sarah to listen to both MAGA voters and swing voters talk about the Big Lie. We cover how MAGA voters think the election was stolen, how swing voters talk to their MAGA family members, and what Ben thinks might be done about all of the mistrust in our elections.

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After over 2 years, the American people are over COVID — but is the pandemic over? CNN medical analyst and WaPo contributor Dr. Leana Wen joins Sarah to talk about how MAGA, Swing, and Dem voters are thinking about the COVID-19 Pandemic, everything from masks, to vaccines, to the CDC.

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We have…good news? Trump fans love Zelensky and hate Putin.

You may remember Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman from his testimony in President Trump’s first impeachment – the impeachment that happened because of a phone call with the now-historic President Zelensky. Today Vindman joins Sarah to talk about the situation in Ukraine and how voters are thinking about it.

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While the American people are mad about inflation, our guest is (mostly) mad at the American people.

Sarah and The Bulwark’s own Jonathan V. Last listen to the inflation discussions from our recent GOP and Democratic focus groups. Find out who everyone blames and what Joe Biden could do to turn around public sentiment.

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The Focus Group is back for season 2!

Sarah kicks off the season with Democratic-turned-Republican strategist Mark McKinnon to talk about Mark’s adopted party (the Republican Party) in his adopted home state (Texas).

Sarah and Mark discuss how our group of Texas Republicans feel about Trump, January 6th, the Bush family, and the Texas primaries for Governor and Attorney General.

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