10 Oct 2026 · 1 hr 9 min
S6 Ep62: Republicans Thought Florida Was Safe. Then Everything Changed (with Kimberly Leonard)
Republicans have been on a long winning streak in Florida...but they might be playing defense in 2026.
Podcast · News
The Focus Group Podcast
by The Bulwark · English · News
Unfiltered, uncompromising, unexpected—The Focus Group is a look into what the average voter thinks about politics, policy, and current events. Sarah Longwell, publisher of The Bulwark, has conducted hundreds of hours of focus groups all across the country. She and a series of special guests will ta
- New episodes
- Weekly
- Typical length
- 55 min
- Latest
- 10 Oct 2026
- Language
- English
Latest episode
Earlier episodes 29 most recent
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S6 · E61 · 3 Oct 2026 · 1 hr 6 min
S6 Ep61: These Trump Voters Are Considering the Unthinkable: Voting for a Democrat (with Amy Walter)
It’s October, and the political environment is really, really, REALLY bad for the Republican Party.
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S6 · E60 · 26 Sep 2026 · 55 min
S6 Ep60: Republicans Are Suddenly Fighting for Their Lives in Ohio (with Andrew Tobias)
Ohio used to be the biggest swing state in the country. It's turned pretty red, (Trump won it by 11 points in 2024) but it's very hotly contested this year.
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S6 · E59 · 19 Sep 2026 · 1 hr 10 min
S6 Ep59: LIVE from San Francisco: Focus Groups Are Revealing a HUGE Weakness for Republicans
Sarah and Pod Save America’s Dan Pfeiffer discuss her book, How to Eat an Elephant, what focus groups are, why she does them, and she uncorks some fresh focus group content on-stage.
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S6 · E58 · 12 Sep 2026 · 55 min
S6 Ep58: Something's Happening in Texas (with Chris Hooks)
Against all odds, Democrats still have a chance in the Texas Senate race. So, is it because Ken Paxton is bad, or because of James Talarico's Nice Young Man energy? Turns out, both.
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S6 · E57 · 5 Sep 2026 · 50 min
S6 Ep57: The GOP is MIA in North Carolina (with Chris Cooper)
North Carolina has been a difficult nut for Democrats to crack for nearly two decades. But relatively popular former Gov. Roy Cooper appears to be on the verge of changing that this year.
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S6 · E56 · 29 Aug 2026 · 1 hr 1 min
S6 Ep56: Why Ed Markey May Survive a Revolt Against Old Candidates (with Adam Reilly)
Why is 80-year-old Ed Markey surviving a Democratic revolt against aging politicians?
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S6 · E55 · 22 Aug 2026 · 1 hr 1 min
S6 Ep55: Sarah Had to Double-Check: “These Are All Trump Voters?” (with Amy Walter)
Amy Walter returns to the pod for a pundit therapy session.
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S6 · E54 · 15 Aug 2026 · 43 min
S6 Ep54: MAGA's Future is in Florida (with Will Sommer)
The battle lines of the next Republican primary are being drawn in Florida's Republican primary for governor.
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S6 · E53 · 8 Aug 2026 · 42 min
S6 Ep53: South Carolina’s Surprise Election (with Meg Kinnard)
After Sen. Lindsey Graham’s passing in July, South Carolina is holding a special Republican primary to replace him as the nominee for U.S. Senate.
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S6 · E52 · 1 Aug 2026 · 1 hr 3 min
S6 Ep52: Jonathan Cohn: Pure Michigan Chaos
At the end of one of the most expensive Democratic primaries for Senate in American history, Abdul El-Sayed appears to be pulling away.
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S6 · E51 · 25 Jul 2026 · 57 min
S6 Ep51: Amy Walter: Pennsylvania's Trump-Shapiro Voters
In Pennsylvania, Gov. Josh Shapiro is on track for a pretty big win in November. And he can't do that without winning over a lot of former Trump voters, including the ones in our focus group.
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S6 · E50 · 18 Jul 2026 · 53 min
S6 Ep50: David French: Character Counts For Less
American politics and politicians are decidedly lower-character than they used to be. So, how did we get here?
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S6 · E49 · 11 Jul 2026 · 46 min
S6 Ep49: Tommy Vietor: Democrats’ Way Forward on Israel
Over the last three years, Democratic voters’ opinion of Israel has taken a nosedive. Sarah and Tommy Vietor talk about why.
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S6 · E48 · 4 Jul 2026 · 1 hr 8 min
S6 Ep48: Heather Cox Richardson: America's 250 Great (and Awful) Years
If you're wondering how (and whether) America is worth celebrating on this particular July 4th, this show will be a bit of a pep talk for you.
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S6 · E47 · 27 Jun 2026 · 56 min
S6 Ep47: Kyle Clark: Colorado's Mad Libs
Colorado isn't much of a swing state anymore, but we're covering its primaries anyway. Both of its senators and one longtime member of Congress are facing bigger headwinds than you might expect.
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S6 · E46 · 20 Jun 2026 · 50 min
S6 Ep46: Patrick Svitek: Texas & Maine Swing Voters Sound Off
Barrels of ink have been spilled about James Talarico, Ken Paxton, Graham Platner, and Susan Collins. For the first time, we're listening to how swing voters in Texas and Maine are assessing these two races.
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S6 · E45 · 13 Jun 2026 · 41 min
S6 Ep45: Rachel Janfaza: You Kids, Get Off My Lawn!
Gen Z swung hard for Trump in 2024. Now his approval with them is under 30%. What happened, and what does this generation’s mix of political views (especially on the war in the Middle East) mean for 2026?
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S6 · E44 · 6 Jun 2026 · 41 min
S6 Ep44: Amy Walter: Everyone Is on the Take
Summer’s here, and Sarah’s taking a break from primary election coverage to take stock of the national political landscape.
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S6 · E43 · 30 May 2026 · 1 hr 8 min
S6 Ep43: Peter Hamby: California Is The Progressive Id
Everyone loves to complain about how California is governed...even some of the Democrats in our focus groups. So, how is the Democratic primary to replace Gavin Newsom shaping up?
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S6 · E42 · 23 May 2026 · 1 hr 12 min
S6 Ep42: Adam Jentleson: More Heterodoxy, Please
Sarah is sick and tired of the arguments about whether Democrats should move to the left or the center, because Democratic voters’ answers to this question overlap a lot more than the online turf wars suggest.
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S6 · E41 · 16 May 2026 · 54 min
S6 Ep41: Greg Bluestein: Georgia's Root Canal Primary
Georgia's primaries for Governor and U.S. Senate have LOTS of things for political nerds (like you, dear listener) to chew on. But the Republican and Democratic voters we talked to felt pretty sick of politics.
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S6 · E40 · 9 May 2026 · 54 min
S6 Ep40: Tim Miller: Good Riddance, Bill Cassidy?
This week's show has a rare note of agreement with our MAGA focus group participants.
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S6 · E39 · 6 May 2026 · 13 min
S6 Ep39: Chuck Schumer’s Candidate Got Humiliated in Maine
In this bite-sized bonus Focus Group episode, Sarah Longwell breaks down the political earthquake in Maine after Janet Mills dropped out of the Senate race. Why are Democratic voters rejecting establishment candidates, forgiving scandals that once would’ve been disqualifying, and demanding fighters over polished politicians? Tickets for our Bulwark Live shows in San Diego and Los Angeles in May: https://thebulwark.com/events
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S6 · E38 · 2 May 2026 · 48 min
S6 Ep38: America's 'House of Cards' Mentality (with David Frum)
Usually, an assassination attempt outside a dinner with the president would be a HUGE news event. Instead, the voters in our focus groups weren't talking much about it.
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S6 · E37 · 30 Apr 2026 · 45 min
S6 Ep37: Trump Promised Lower Prices. Everything Got Worse! (w/ Rotimi Adeoye)
Enjoy a bonus episode of The Focus Group Podcast—Rachel Janfaza talks with Rotimi Adeoye about why moderate Gen Z focus group participants feel locked out of the economy. They discuss Rotimi’s “House by 30” idea, why vague promises aren’t cutting it, and how both parties—especially after Trump’s failed affordability pledges—are losing trust with young voters who feel like they did everything right and still can’t get ahead. Read Rotimi Adeoye in the New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/30/opinion/democrats-homeownership-affordability.html Tickets for our Bulwark Live shows in San…
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S6 · E36 · 25 Apr 2026 · 1 hr 12 min
S6 Ep36: America's Divisions: Getting on Our Nerves (with Jessica Tarlov)
Everyone agrees that America is too divided. So, how do we rebuild a country where Americans can live with each other a little easier?
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S6 · E35 · 18 Apr 2026 · 1 hr 12 min
S6 Ep35: Trump Voters Say 'Nope' to the Pope (with Jonathan V. Last)
Donald Trump and Pope Leo XIV are probably the two most prominent Americans in the world right now, and they're fighting.
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S6 · E34 · 17 Apr 2026 · 46 min
S6 Ep34: Why Women Don’t Need Men Anymore—In Their Own Words (w/ Sami Sage)
On this bonus episode of The Focus Group, Rachel and guest Sami Sage of Betches Media wonder whether millennials are truly still ‘cringe.’ They also discuss the Gen Z gender gap, and how some politically moderate young women are navigating that political divide in their personal lives. By Sami Sage: In Paperback on April 28: Democracy in Retrograde: How to Make Changes Big and Small in Our Country and in Our Lives ( https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Democracy-in-Retrograde/Sami-Sage/9781668053492 ) Check out 'The Context', from the Charles F. Kettering Foundation:…
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S6 · E33 · 11 Apr 2026 · 52 min
S6 Ep33: The Sad, Mad GOP Base (with Amy Walter)
We convened a focus group of 2020 and 2024 Trump voters who are unhappy with his administration to give you a sample of the kind of despair that could keep Republicans home in November.
About The Focus Group Podcast
Unfiltered, uncompromising, unexpected—The Focus Group is a look into what the average voter thinks about politics, policy, and current events. Sarah Longwell, publisher of The Bulwark, has conducted hundreds of hours of focus groups all across the country. She and a series of special guests will ta
The Focus Group Podcast is a English news podcast from The Bulwark. Melo plays each episode straight from the publisher's own feed — no ads added, no account needed — and remembers where you stopped, in this browser only.
- Publisher
- The Bulwark
- Language
- English
- Category
- News
- New episodes
- Weekly
- Typical length
- 55 min
- Latest episode
- 10 Oct 2026
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- podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1586423406
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