Postcards from the Great Divide

Nebraska is a deep red state that hasn’t gone Democratic in a presidential contest in over 50 years. So how can the minority party become relevant in state politics? Enter Jane Kleeb. She married a Nebraska rancher and went on to lead the successful state resistance blocking the Keystone Pipeline. Now she’s been elected the chair of the state Democratic Party. Can she change her party’s fortunes?

Democrats used to be competitive in both cities and the countryside, but partisanship has changed things. It’s now getting harder and harder to find Democrats in rural areas across the US, but especially in the South. Are the partisans of Western Kentucky the last of this dying breed? We travel to the politically raucous annual Fancy Farm Picnic to find out.

Nevada used to be a deep red state in presidential years, but thousands of Latinos have moved there, many to work in gaming industry, turning the state purple. Now, in the year of Trump, how can Republicans attract Latino votes at the margins in enough numbers to grab a prize, Harry Reid’s Senate seat?

In the fight to win control at the state level, Republicans have reached a historic high, capturing thirty-one legislatures in the past several years. Now the Republicans think they have a plan to win both legislative houses in left-leaning Washington State. With divided knife-edge majorities in both chambers, we follow a GOP strategist as he works with socially moderate candidates.

Across America, blue voters are choosing to live in “creative-class” urban oases, as red voters remain in rural areas. Minnesota native Aaron Spading, conservative church-goer turned far-left Powderhorn Park resident, guides us as we explore one of those blue-dots-in-a-sea-of-red. Meetings with family and old neighbors illustrates just how deep the political gulf between communities can be.

There is a longstanding political assumption that because of a burgeoning Latino population, Texas will one day turn purple. Oscar Del Toro, a small businessman and immigrant from Mexico and a candidate for a City Council seat in suburban Houston is on a mission to motivate Latino voters to finally make this a reality and along the way he discovers how difficult a task this may be.

African-Americans in Florida voted in record numbers for Obama even when registration rules were tightened. What are the challenges among the black electorate that Hillary Clinton will face in this must-win state? We visit a number of African-Americans in the city, from a black chamber of commerce meeting, to a picnic of friends, and ending at a lively black heritage celebration to find out.

Once the poster child for bipartisan politics, Wisconsin has become an ideological battleground in recent years. What happened to the middle? Wandering around the state to find out are two former state senators--one a Republican, one a Democrat. Visiting a gun show, an anti-Trump protest, and a conservative talk radio gathering, they look for insight into the state’s political future.

Last year, a battle royale broke out over a local school board in Jefferson County, Colorado. A newly elected conservative majority had overturned union contracts, put in a merit system for teacher pay, and funded charter schools. The response was a week of student protests and a recall election fueled by groups with political agendas and lots of money.

Hay una hipótesis política de que debido a una creciente población latina, Tejas un día cambia de color púrpura. Oscar Del Toro, un pequeño hombre de negocios y de inmigrantes de México y un candidato para un puesto en el Consejo de la ciudad en los suburbios de Houston, se encuentra en una misión para motivar a los votantes latinos para finalmente hacer esto una realidad.