Perry Bacon Jr.

Louisville

Columnist covering policy, elections, governance and culture.
Perry Bacon Jr. is a Washington Post columnist. Before joining The Post, Perry had stints as a government and elections writer for Time magazine, The Post's national desk, theGrio and FiveThirtyEight. He has also been been an on-air analyst at MSNBC and a fellow at New America. He grew up in Louisville and lives there now.
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Latest from Perry Bacon Jr.

Why religion is becoming an even stronger force within the Republican Party

Here’s why the religious right remains a potent force even as it grows smaller.

April 16, 2024
A man prays outside the Supreme Court on July 8, 2020.

A cocktail of urgency and dread: 3 columnists on campaign 2024

In a new “Impromptu” podcast from Post Opinions, three columnists talk about how they are processing the unusually long general-election campaign of 2024.

April 11, 2024

The three kinds of swing voters — and why they aren’t with Trump or Biden

These groups of voters show why 2024 will be so hard to predict.

April 10, 2024
Biden volunteer Tamika Morris waves a sign at passing cars as GOP volunteer Robby Thurston looks on in St. Petersburg, Fla., in 2020. (Zack Wittman for The Washington Post)

How to cope with the absurd, high-stakes 2024 election

America is entering a grueling presidential election season that’s also a rematch of the one from four years ago. Many Americans report feeling exhausted by politics and the news. So how do we stay engaged? What can journalists do to help?

April 10, 2024

Liberals must answer the right’s attacks on America’s colleges

Democratic Party officials and the broader left need to forcefully push back against the right’s war on higher education.

April 8, 2024
The Wren building at the College of William & Mary. (iStock)

What should we expect from Judge Aileen Cannon? I answered your questions.

Perry’s live chat with readers starts at 1 p.m. ET on Thursday. Read the transcript.

April 4, 2024

Do small election donations help national candidates? I answered your questions.

Perry’s live chat with readers starts at 1 p.m. ET on Thursday. Read the transcript.

March 28, 2024

These progressives were right about Gaza. Now it could cost them their seats.

Eighteen House Democrats started calling for a cease-fire in Gaza months ago. They are in real danger of losing.

March 26, 2024
Democratic Reps. Cori Bush (Mo.), Delia C. Ramirez (Ill.), Ilhan Omar (Minn.) and Ayanna Pressley (Mass.) hold signs calling for a cease-fire in Gaza at the Capitol on March 7. (Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters)

Voters of color are shifting right. Are Democrats doomed?

Are so many voters of color becoming Republicans that U.S. politics is on the verge of a dramatic change? Maybe.

March 19, 2024
An election worker holds a roll of "I Voted" stickers at a polling place in Charleston, S.C., on Feb. 24. (Julia Nikhinson /AFP/Getty Images)

Biden is learning that being progressive is good policy — and good politics

Biden is leaning into the more progressive camps and playing down one of the more centrist ones.

March 15, 2024