Philip Bump, for many years an important voice at the Washington Post, joins us on this week's episode of The Downballot podcast to share our mutual love of nerding out on numbers. Philip explains how he translates abstract data for a broad audience, going into detail on some surprising findings regarding turnout and special elections. He also explores how the second Trump administration differs from the first and concludes that public opinion likely has not yet caught up to the reality of just how different things are.

Co-hosts David Nir and David Beard also bring listeners up to speed on the latest developments in the never-ending litigation over North Carolina's Supreme Court race, which—for the first time in a long time—just brought some good news for Democrat Allison Riggs. And the Davids take a look at Iowa, where a GOP governor's surprise retirement might create a rare opening for Democrats.

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