MICHAEL BARONE

Washington, D.C.

Michael Barone is a Columnist of the Creators Syndicate.

Mr. Barone is a senior political analyst for the Washington Examiner and a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

Latest Articles

Jean Leon Gerome Ferris: 'Writing the Declaration of Independence, 1776,' detail. — Via Wikimedia Commons

Tumult of 2026 Midterms Evokes Cultural Divisions Dating to 1776

Complaints are rife today, on all political sides, that our politics is divisive and coarsening, rending our nation into hostile camps.

By MICHAEL BARONE

|Oct 31, 2026|

Opinion

Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed speaks to supporters at an election-night rally at the Majestic Theatre on August 4, 2026. — Scott Olson/Getty Images

A Midterm ‘Thumping’ for Republicans Could Prompt the Party To Chart a New Post-Trump Course

Generic polls, which could prove misleading, show significant movement toward Democrats and away from the GOP.

By MICHAEL BARONE

|Oct 25, 2026|

Opinion

President Trump serves french fries as an employee looks on during a visit to a McDonald's at Feasterville-Trevose, Pennsylvania, Sunday. — Doug Mills/The New York Times via AP

Trump’s Bond With Voters, Cemented by 2020 Shift at McDonald’s, Seems Strained Ahead of Midterms

The swing against Republicans seems driven more by an impulse to curb the excesses of the president than by any faith in alternative policies.

By MICHAEL BARONE

|Oct 16, 2026|

Opinion

President Trump at the GOP midterm convention on September 9, 2026 at Dallas. — Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Populism, Ascendant Globally, Looks Poised for a Setback in America on November 3

Trump’s successes, ironically, could hurt the GOP cause in the midterm voting.

By MICHAEL BARONE

|Oct 10, 2026|

Opinion

Senator Charles Schumer and Congressman Hakeem Jeffries at the Capitol on June 11, 2025. — Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Predictions of Republican Doom in the Midterms Could Yet Prove Premature

Plus, too, no one seems to know for sure what Democrats will do if they win majorities in both houses.

By MICHAEL BARONE

|Oct 3, 2026|

Opinion

Midterm Polling Suggests the Birth Pains of Post-Trump Politics

Candidate selection is emerging as the critical factor in deciding key races that will set control of Congress.

By MICHAEL BARONE

|Sep 27, 2026|

Columnists

The Democratic nominee for Senate in Michigan, Abdul El-Sayed, on August 3, 2026 at Detroit. — Scott Olson/Getty Images

Democrats’ Midterm Chances Threatened by Their Embrace of the Far Left’s Least Popular Impulses

Yet Republicans, too, face repercussions from the self-indulgence of a second-term president.

By MICHAEL BARONE

|Sep 18, 2026|

Opinion

The co-leader of the rightist Alternative for Germany party, Alice Weidel, at Berlin, February 23, 2025. — AP/Michael Probst

Acceptance of Germany’s Surging Rightists Hinges on Consensus Over Need To Limit Migration

‘Liberalism,’ one thinker on the left argues, ‘needs a new philosophy of immigration.’

By MICHAEL BARONE

|Sep 15, 2026|

Opinion

Lenin and Stalin at Gorki in 1922. — Via Wikimedia Commons

Soviet Union’s Early Years Offer Disturbing Preview of DSA’s Agenda

Stephen Kotkin’s biography of Stalin is a reminder that unlikely-seeming threats can prove disastrous.

By MICHAEL BARONE

|Sep 8, 2026|

Opinion

Demonstrators raise their mobile phone lights during a protest in support of the Black Lives Matter movement at New York in July 2020. — AP/John Minchillo

Democrats in 2028 Could Have Trouble Shaking the Far-Left Baggage of the ‘Woke 1’ Era

AOC obviously has a motive to brush aside, as she does with a charmingly self-deprecatory laugh, the exotic positions she and other liberals took on the issues.

By MICHAEL BARONE

|Aug 31, 2026|

Opinion

The Democratic nominee for Senate from Florida, Angie Nixon, on August 17, 2026 at Hallandale Beach. — Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Florida’s Primary Results Echo Far-Left Takeover of Democratic Party in McGovern Era

Then as now a protest movement incubated on college and university campuses shows its dominance.

By MICHAEL BARONE

|Aug 21, 2026|

Columnists

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Francesca Hong talks during a primary debate at Milwaukee, July 28, 2026. — AP/Nam Y. Huh

Midwest Primary Results Could Foretell Rise of a DSA-Backed Presidential Nominee in 2028

Turmoil in the Democratic Party echoes the changes in the GOP’s constituencies ahead of Trump’s candidacy.

By MICHAEL BARONE

|Aug 16, 2026|

Columnists