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How do you solve a problem like Candace Owens?

How do you solve a problem like Candace Owens?

As Pressures Mount, Trump Faces the Most Precarious Moment of His Presidency

As Pressures Mount, Trump Faces the Most Precarious Moment of His Presidency

Congress Shouldn’t Let Federal Tort Claims Become Political Gifts

Congress Shouldn’t Let Federal Tort Claims Become Political Gifts

The Minneapolis Shooting Is Not an Aberration — It’s a Warning of What Comes Next

The Minneapolis Shooting Is Not an Aberration — It’s a Warning of What Comes Next

People voting at voting booths.

The Quiet Campaign That Could Rewrite the 2028 Election

Top-seeded campaign finance reforms squaring off in Democracy Madness

tournament
enjoynz/Getty Images
The Fulcrum
By The FulcrumMay 13, 2020
The Fulcrum
The Fulcrum staff.
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It's down to the top two in the Money in Politics "region" of our reader-driven Democracy Madness tournament. Repealing the Supreme Court's 2013 Citizen United decision (No. 1) is taking on "dark money" disclosures (No. 2) for the championship in this quarter of our bracket.

Similar to an earlier bracket, ideas for bettering voting, the second seed has coasted its way into the finals, blowing out every opponent it came across. The top seed faced a couple of matchups that were a little tighter — but also didn't face any real challenges along the way.

Will the Money in Politics quarter of the draw deliver an upset in the championship round, which is what happened when ranked-choice voting and the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact got past higher-seeded ideas to earn the first births in our Democracy Madness Final Four? You decide.

Cast your vote by Thursday for the campaign finance reform you view as the single most important. Click the Vote Now button and take your pick.

We'll unveil our 16 "best of the rest" democracy reform proposals and start whittling them down next week.


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Trump’s Second Year and the Crossroads Facing Latinos

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Trump’s Second Year and the Crossroads Facing Latinos

As President Donald Trump enters his second year of his second term, the nation’s 62 million Hispanics and Latinos are bracing for a turbulent 2026 shaped by economic uncertainty, shifting political allegiances, and intensified immigration enforcement. New polling and research released throughout late 2025 paint a complex picture of a community that is increasingly anxious about its future and deeply skeptical of the administration’s direction.

Across multiple surveys, Latino voters consistently identify the economy, affordability, and jobs as their top concerns heading into 2026. A sweeping national survey of 3,000 registered Latino voters found that 65% believe President Trump and congressional Republicans are not doing enough to improve the economy, a five‑point increase since April. Half of respondents said they expect Trump’s economic policies to make them personally worse off next year.

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Can Things Get Even Worse for Mike Johnson?

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) lat the U.S. Capitol on January 7, 2025 in Washington, DC.

(Photo by Heather Diehl/Getty Images)

Can Things Get Even Worse for Mike Johnson?

Two weeks ago, a column in the Fulcrum warned that Speaker Mike Johnson was entering a political season defined by "ritual human sacrifice," noting that in a Trump‑branded GOP, someone must absorb the blame when governing goes sideways. In this context, the "sacrifice" refers to the erosion of institutional norms, accountability, and the potential jeopardy of individual reputations. Jonah Goldberg wrote that "Mike Johnson might as well be tied to a stake in the lion’s den."

That line feels understated now, as cascading crises over the past several days have closed in even further around Speaker Johnson.

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Hollywood Gets Congress Wrong—and It’s Costing America Trust in Democracy

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Hollywood Gets Congress Wrong—and It’s Costing America Trust in Democracy

The following article is excerpted from "Citizen’s Handbook for Influencing Elected Officials."

Since the 1970s, public trust in American institutions—including Congress—has steadily declined. Approval ratings for the House and Senate usually hover in the teens. Certainly, some misdeeds by our elected leaders have contributed to this decline, and mainstream national media can claim its fair share of “credit” in portraying Congress in a negative light. Yet another major ingredient in the ugly formula poisoning public opinion of Congress is Hollywood. Movies and TV shows routinely portray Congress as craven, corrupt, selfish, and completely indifferent to the public interest. Regrettably, this is a wholly incorrect portrayal of our nation’s legislators.

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Alderwoman Milele A. Coggs: A Defining Force in Milwaukee

Alderwoman Milele A. Coggs

Milwaukee Habitat for Humanity

Alderwoman Milele A. Coggs: A Defining Force in Milwaukee

Alderwoman Milele A. Coggs has been a defining force in Milwaukee civic life for nearly two decades, combining deep community roots with a record of public service grounded in equity, cultural investment, and neighborhood empowerment. Born and raised in Milwaukee, she graduated from Riverside University High School before earning her bachelor’s degree, cum laude, from Fisk University, where she studied Business Administration and English.

The Fulcrum spoke with Coggs about the work she leads, including eliminating food deserts in her district on an episode of The Fulcrum Democracy Forum.

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