March 2026 saw a slew of elections, as the country ramped up to the November midterms. Among these elections were a pair of exciting Texas primaries: State Representative James Talarico triumphed over his opponent, the firebrand Jasmine Crockett, while the top two Republican candidates — John Cornyn and Ken Paxton — advanced to a runoff. […]
Tag: elections
Nepal’s Parliamentary Election Brings Down the Old Guard and Raises New Hopes
“Time’s up, Fake leaders, Game Over. We’ll ring the bell on 5 March.” These lyrics from rapper-turned-politician Balendra Shah were chanted continuously out on the streets of Nepal in September 2025 during the Gen-Z political protests. The youth responded negatively to a censorship-like social media ban, which then turned into a nationwide protest against the […]
The Global Aftershocks of Brazil’s Narrowing Election
Brazil has long held a paradoxical position in the global political order. It is the largest nation in Latin America, the world’s ninth-largest economy, the seventh-largest population, and a founder of major international institutions like Mercosur and BRICS. However, Brasilia has also historically avoided rigid geopolitical alignments, favoring a foreign policy centered on strategic autonomy […]
San Francisco, Make Way for Young People
San Francisco prides itself on setting up a system for opening up doors for fresh leaders — yet buried within its city charter is a quiet loophole that has allowed some politicians to remain in power, leaving no room for young people. Is this intentional or incidental? District 5 Supervisor Bilal Mahmood has proposed a […]
San Francisco’s Congressional Race May Predict the Future of the Democratic Party
San Francisco may be a bellwether for November’s midterms, and the future of the Democratic Party. Last November, when U.S. Representative and former speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi announced her long-anticipated retirement, she vacated a seat held for nearly four decades, and gave San Franciscan voters a once-in-a-generation choice. As the growing shadow of […]
A Post-Mortem of the Youth Vote in 2024
This article is a follow-up to an earlier Berkeley Political Review article entitled “Blue Generation: Gen Z and the Democratic Party.” In the 2024 presidential election, Democratic candidate Kamala Harris underperformed President Joe Biden’s vote share in 2020 nationally by three percentage points. Harris’ underperformance is more striking when looking at individual states, even states […]
Fraud at the Polls: The Last Stand for Democracy
In the early hours of July 28, Venezuelans lined up outside polling stations across the country, hoping to cast their votes for a new president, a new beginning. They waited in the sweltering heat, talking in hopeful whispers about change. But by nightfall, their hope was shattered. Nicolás Maduro, long accused of authoritarian tactics, declared […]
Portugal Elections Mark Europe’s Surge Toward Radical Right
In April, Portugal was supposed to celebrate its 50-year anniversary of democracy, leadership, and stability since the Carnation Revolution, which overthrew the right-wing dictatorship that had led the country for decades. However, in March, just one month before this great milestone in the country’s history, it is facing political turmoil and democratic decay. Populist right-wing […]
The Aesthetics of Age
“[Biden’s] health and age kind of get in the way of his ability to be a good president of the United States,” says a female poll respondent from Wisconsin. He is a “well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory,” says special counsel Robert Hur’s recent report on the president’s handling of classified documents. These are […]
Is Indonesia’s New President a “Cuddly Grandpa” or Cunning Dictator?
Thousands of young Indonesians cheer as Prabowo Subianto dances up onto the stage in Jakarta. Known by his mononym, Prabowo, the friendly figure has been a popular presidential candidate in the world’s third-largest democracy. Many of these Indonesians are too young to know that Prabowo was not always the dancing grandpa he appears to be […]