Shows / Decision Desk HQ Podcast
Decision Desk HQ Podcast
Every day is Election Day. Our weekly show talks votes, polls, trends, campaigns, and more. A show by election nerds for fellow election nerds, novices, and everyone in between.
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Episodes
Decision Desk HQ PodcastEpisode 49: Senate Signals, with Jessica Taylor (Cook Political Report) & Miles Coleman (Sabato’s Crystal Ball)
Election Day is right around the corner, and control of the U.S. Senate appears to be the biggest question surrounding the 2026 midterms. In Decision Desk HQ’s…
Decision Desk HQ PodcastForecast Update: Democrats favored to win House, Senate remains close
DDHQ friend Chris Cillizza, who runs So What on Substack, was joined by Chief Elections Analyst Geoffrey Skelley and Data Scientist Maddisen Murrell to talk…
Decision Desk HQ PodcastEpisode 48: Breaking Down the House, with Erin Covey (Cook Political Report) & Jacob Rubashkin (Inside Elections)
Election Day is less than two weeks away! In Decision Desk HQ’s forecast, Democrats have close to a 4 in 5 shot of capturing a U.S. House majority, with an…
Decision Desk HQ PodcastEpisode 47: Can Mary Peltola flip Alaska? Can Ashley Hinson hold Iowa?
The midterms are almost two weeks away. With so many pivotal races on the board, the Decision Desk HQ Podcast chatted with two reporters about what’s happening…
Decision Desk HQ PodcastForecast Update: Is a blue wave rising or cresting?
DDHQ friend Chris Cillizza, who runs So What on Substack, was joined by Chief Elections Analyst Geoffrey Skelley and Data Scientist Maddisen Murrell to talk…
Decision Desk HQ PodcastForecast Update: Democrats have more than 50% chance of flipping both Senate & House
DDHQ friend Chris Cillizza, who runs So What on Substack, was joined by Chief Elections Analyst Geoffrey Skelley and Data Scientist Maddisen Murrell to talk…
Decision Desk HQ PodcastEpisode 46: Can Susan Collins survive in Maine? Can Sherrod Brown flip Ohio?
With the midterms rapidly approaching, this episode of the Decision Desk HQ podcast features not one, but two, guests! In the first part, Decision Desk HQ…
Decision Desk HQ PodcastEpisode 45: Could Talarico Really Turn Texas Blue? With Gabby Birenbaum from The Texas Tribune
Just two years after voting for President Trump by nearly 14 percentage points, Texas has become an unexpected frontline swing state. The Senate race between…
Decision Desk HQ PodcastEpisode 44: SCOTUS Blocks Trump’s Vote-By-Mail Order + Missouri’s Map Mess, with Nathaniel Rakich from Votebeat
With all primaries done and dusted, it is now indisputably general election time. But we have two late developments that will affect the 2026 electoral…
Decision Desk HQ PodcastDecision Desk HQ 2026 Post-Labor Day Forecast Update, with Chris Cillizza
DDHQ friend Chris Cillizza, who runs So What on Substack, was joined by Chief Elections Analyst Geoffrey Skelley and Data Scientist Maddisen Murrell to talk…
Decision Desk HQ PodcastEpisode 43: DDHQ’s Governors Forecast!
Midterms aren’t just about the race for Congress. Thirty-six states will also elect their governors, making this the main venue for deciding who will lead most…
Decision Desk HQ PodcastEpisode 42: Understanding Modern Campaigns, with Eric Wilson from Center for Campaign Innovation
Three decades ago, Bob Dole’s 1996 bid for the White House became the first presidential campaign to have a website. But nowadays, campaigns use a huge range…
Decision Desk HQ PodcastEpisode 41: Are Senate Polls Overrating Democrats’ Chances? With Patrick Ruffini of Echelon Insights
Democrats have closed the gap in Decision Desk HQ’s Senate forecast. Their chances have particularly been boosted by strong polls in red-leaning states like…
Decision Desk HQ PodcastDecision Desk HQ 2026 Forecast Update Convo for late August, with Chris Cillizza
DDHQ friend Chris Cillizza, who runs So What on Substack, was nice enough to have two members of the DDHQ team on a Substack Live conversation about our 2026…
Decision Desk HQ PodcastEpisode 40: What Young People Really Think About Socialism, with Rachel Janfaza of The Up and Up
With the rise of democratic socialism on the left and populism on the right, there has been substantial discussion about how Gen Z will impact the future of…
Decision Desk HQ PodcastEpisode 39: Which Factions Are Winning Primaries, with FiftyPlusOne's Primary Project
Decision Desk HQ Chief Elections Analyst Geoffrey Skelley chats with his former FiveThirtyEight colleagues — Cooper Burton, Meredith Conroy, and Tia Yang —…
Decision Desk HQ PodcastEpisode 38: Our Forecast Shows A Tight Race for Congress
Decision Desk HQ recently released its 2026 midterm election forecast for the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives. And the topline numbers suggest…
Decision Desk HQ PodcastEpisode 37: Modern Campaign Ads, with Nick Everhart of Content Creative Media & Medium Buying
We talk a lot about money in politics — like how much a candidate or group has raised and spent. You’ll often see a reference to how much a candidate has…
Decision Desk HQ PodcastDDHQ's Geoffrey Skelley Reveals Their 2026 Forecast!
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit decisiondeskhq.substack.com
Decision Desk HQ PodcastEpisode 36: What's Next in Maine After Platner Drops Out, with Michael Shepherd (Bangor Daily News)
On Wednesday evening, Graham Platner announced that he was suspending his campaign for U.S. Senate in Maine ahead of a July 13 deadline to withdraw as the…
Decision Desk HQ PodcastEpisode 35: Listener Mailbag Questions!
With the May-June onslaught of primaries tailing off, Decision Desk HQ thought it would be fun to do a mailbag episode addressing questions from our listeners!…
Decision Desk HQ PodcastEpisode 34: What NYC's Primaries Can Tell Us About Democrats in 2028, with Michael Lange of The Narrative Wars
Among the most-watched races on June 23 will be a group of four Democratic primaries in solidly blue New York City-based U.S. House districts. These contests…
Decision Desk HQ PodcastEpisode 33: Where the Race for Congress Stands 5 Months Out, with Kyle Kondik of Sabato's Crystal Ball
With the midterms fewer than five months out, we took stock of where things stand in the 2026 race for Congress. In the Senate, Republicans hold a 53-47…
Decision Desk HQ PodcastDecision Desk 2026: Maine, South Carolina & Nevada Primaries
On June 9, four states held their regular primary elections. The top race was Maine’s U.S. Senate contest, where controversy-laden Graham Platner won the…
Decision Desk HQ PodcastEpisode 32: 2026's Maine Event, with Michael Shepherd of the Bangor Daily News
One 2026 election seems to keep grabbing all the headlines: Maine’s U.S. Senate race. There, Democrat Graham Platner keeps making news, and usually for the…
Decision Desk HQ PodcastDecision Desk 2026: California & More Primaries
June is here and so are more primaries! On June 2, six states held their regular primary elections: California, Iowa, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, and…
Decision Desk HQ PodcastEpisode 31: Tense Times in Texas's Senate Race, with Patrick Svitek of CNN
In the past eight years, Georgia has become a critical battleground state. That’s the case once again this year as the Peach State hosts highly competitive…
Decision Desk HQ PodcastEpisode 30: Reading Georgia's 2026 Peach Leaves, with Greg Bluestein of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
In the past eight years, Georgia has become a critical battleground state. That’s the case once again this year as the Peach State hosts highly competitive…
Decision Desk HQ PodcastEpisode 29: Redistricting Chaos After Callais, with Nathaniel Rakich from Votebeat
Last week, the Supreme Court issued its ruling in Louisiana v. Callais, which weakened the power of the Voting Rights Act to adjudicate claims of racially…
Decision Desk HQ PodcastDecision Desk 2026: Ohio + Indiana Primaries
On Tuesday, Indiana and Ohio voters went to the polls for their regular primary elections. This included contests for U.S. Senate, U.S. House, governor, and a…
Decision Desk HQ PodcastEpisode 28: Why Ohio is pivotal in 2026, with Jeremy Pelzer of the Cleveland Plain Dealer
Ohio may not be the swing state it once was in presidential elections. But it will still pack a punch in the 2026 midterms. The state has a pivotal U.S. Senate…
Decision Desk HQ PodcastEpisode 27: What Will Matter in 2026, with Chris Cillizza of So What
We are about six months out from the 2026 midterm elections. That means some of the larger environmental factors that will impact the electoral playing field…
Decision Desk HQ PodcastDecision Desk 2026: Virginia Redistricting Livestream
The 2026 election cycle’s national redistricting conflict shifted to Virginia on April 21. There, voters backed a constitutional amendment that, depending on…
Decision Desk HQ PodcastEpisode 26: Virginia's Redistricting Referendum, with Chaz Nuttycombe of State Navigate
This coming Tuesday, April 21, will offer the latest conflict in the 2026 redistricting wars. Virginia will hold a special election on a constitutional…
Decision Desk HQ PodcastEpisode 25: Governor Elections Galore, with Lou Jacobson of the Almanac of American Politics
Gubernatorial elections are a major feature of the 2026 electoral landscape. All told, 36 states choose governors in midterms, making it the main decision…
Decision Desk HQ PodcastEpisode 24: Wisconsin’s Supreme Court election & other 2026 races, with Scott Milfred of the Wisconsin State Journal
The 2026 contest for the U.S. House of Representatives looks favorable for Democrats. President Donald Trump’s job approval rating is in the low 40s, and…
Decision Desk HQ PodcastEpisode 23: Under-the-Radar House Races, with Erin Covey from The Cook Political Report
The 2026 contest for the U.S. House of Representatives looks favorable for Democrats. President Donald Trump’s job approval rating is in the low 40s, and…
Decision Desk HQ PodcastEpisode 22: Polling the Public, with Lakshya Jain from The Argument
Public opinion surveys are important for understanding what’s happening in elections and politics more broadly. Whether it’s a party gaining in the generic…
Decision Desk HQ PodcastEpisode 21: Kevin Kiley, Dan Osborn & Fake Independents, with Eric Cunningham of DDHQ
Last week, Republican Rep. Kevin Kiley announced he would seek reelection as an independent in California’s blue-leaning 6th District. Kiley, a two-term…
Decision Desk HQ PodcastEpisode 20: The Voting Rights Act's Demise & the 2030 Census, with Sean Trende of RealClearPolitics
We’ve talked a great deal about redistricting in the 2026 midterm election cycle — and with good reason. Six states have drawn new maps, and more could join in…
Decision Desk HQ PodcastEpisode 19: Talking Texas Primaries, with Gabby Birenbaum of The Texas Tribune
It’s almost primary time! This coming Tuesday, three states — Arkansas, North Carolina, and Texas — will hold their regular primaries to nominate candidates…
Decision Desk HQ PodcastEpisode 18: 2026 Redistricting Refresher, with Nathaniel Rakich from Votebeat
Mid-decade redistricting could be a wildfire that keeps burning and just won’t go out. Six states have already implemented new maps, either via newly-passed…
Decision Desk HQ PodcastEpisode 17: Trump Isn’t Just Losing Ground With Young Men, with Mary Radcliffe from FiftyPlusOne
In recent months, one growing political narrative is the extent to which President Donald Trump has lost ground with young men. In the 2024 election, Trump…
Decision Desk HQ PodcastEpisode 16: Perusing 2026 Races for Prosecutor & Sheriff, with Daniel Nichanian from Bolts
It’s easy to focus on the high-profile elections happening this November. But many voters will have myriad downballot races to consider, too, including two…
Decision Desk HQ PodcastEpisode 15: Sizing Up The Senate, with Grace Panetta from The 19th
A big part of the 2026 midterms is the race for the U.S. Senate, where Republicans hold a 53-47 majority. Because Vice President JD Vance can break a 50-50 tie…
Decision Desk HQ PodcastEpisode 14: Pollapalooza, with Eli McKown-Dawson (Silver Bulletin) & Scott Tranter (DDHQ)
In this week’s podcast, we dug into polling, which is such a huge part of the conversation around elections. Beyond knowing who is in the lead and by how much…
Decision Desk HQ PodcastEpisode 13: A House Divided, with Joshua Huder from Georgetown's GAI
This week, the Decision Desk HQ podcast examined the messy state of affairs in the U.S. House of Representatives. There, Republicans hold just a 218-213…
Decision Desk HQ PodcastEpisode 12: Minnesota Musical Chairs and Virginia Voting, with J. Miles Coleman from Sabato’s Crystal Ball
Welcome to the official midterm year of 2026! Looking ahead to what could happen this November, the podcast zoomed in on the electoral situations in Minnesota…
Decision Desk HQ PodcastEpisode 11: Holiday History Special
Happy New Year! With electoral politics briefly paused for the holiday season, Decision Desk HQ decided to do something a little different for this podcast…
Decision Desk HQ PodcastEpisode 10: Getting Gubernatorial, with Jessica Taylor from The Cook Political Report
It’s been a busy couple of months since we began the DDHQ Podcast. But heading into the holiday period, we decided to focus our last regular podcast of 2025 on…
Decision Desk HQ PodcastEpisode 9: The 2026 Texas Two-Step, with Gabby Birenbaum from The Texas Tribune
Everything is bigger in Texas, including the candidate filing deadline for the state’s 2026 primaries. To help unravel what happened around Texas’s Dec. 8…
Decision Desk HQ PodcastEpisode 8: Talking Tennessee, with Jacob Rubashkin from Inside Elections
On Tuesday, the special election in Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District drew the attention of election watchers everywhere. Naturally, then, the race in the…
Decision Desk HQ PodcastEpisode 7: Redistricting Turbulence in Texas and Elsewhere, with Nathaniel Rakich from Votebeat
One of the leading stories this year has been mid-decade redistricting ahead of the 2026 midterms. Earlier this year, President Donald Trump began encouraging…
Decision Desk HQ PodcastEpisode 6: The State of Polling in 2025, with Elliott Morris & Mary Radcliffe from FiftyPlusOne
With the 2025 election in the rearview mirror, Decision Desk HQ wanted to take a look at polling. After all, public opinion surveys play an important role in…
Decision Desk HQ PodcastEpisode 5: 2025 Election Reaction, with Michael Pruser & Zachary Donnini
The 2025 election is in the books! Decision Desk HQ had all the results and a livestream to cover the vote as it came in. But now it’s time to start making…
Decision Desk HQ PodcastEpisode 4: Mamdani vs. Cuomo in NYC, with Michael Lange
Besides the statewide contests in New Jersey and Virginia, there is another very high-profile office on the ballot next week: New York City mayor! To talk…
Decision Desk HQ PodcastEpisode 3: Jumping into Jersey with Steve Kornacki
Don’t look now, but New Jersey may have the closest race for governor on the ballot anywhere this November. To dig into this race, Steve Kornacki was kind…
Decision Desk HQ PodcastEpisode 2: Virginia's Volatile 2025 Election with Kyle Kondik
Virginia’s attorney general’s election has been at the center of political coverage in recent days after it came to light that Democratic nominee Jay Jones…
Decision Desk HQ PodcastEpisode 1: It’s Never Too Early To Talk About The 2026 Senate Races
For our first episode of the new Decision Desk HQ Podcast, DDHQ Chief Elections Analyst Geoffrey Skelley and DDHQ founder Brandon Finnigan took a look at the…
Decision Desk HQ PodcastBehind the scenes of the 2020 election and the life of a television journalist
NewsNation anchor and national correspondent Leland Vittert joined Geoffrey Skelley (Decision Desk HQ) and Chris Cillizza (author of the “So What” Substack)…