Democrats are still locked in a standoff over DHS funding, specifically over ICE with seemingly no end in sight any time soon. Affordability is also top of mind as Trump plans to pivot messaging to the economy and every day American issues. Democratic strategist and ROKK Partner Kristen Hawn joined Bloomberg’s Balance of Power to discuss.
Press
The 2028 Democratic primary may be a year off, but many of the would-be candidates have already soft launched their campaigns with voters. Potential candidates such as Govs. Gavin Newsom of California and Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania are turning to newly penned books and late-night appearances.
Democratic strategist and ROKK Partner Rodell Mollineau gave his insights into what potential candidates will need to hone in on to succeed ahead of the Democratic primaries in The Hill.
Advisers have encouraged the president to sound more empathetic toward struggling Americans. But as some bright spots emerge, the messaging has shifted. Republican strategist and ROKK Partner Ron Bonjean shared his thoughts on what the Republican strategy needs to be going into the midterm elections in The Washington Post.
Affordability remains a dominant topic. While Democrats have a generally unified message, Republicans have shown cracks in their messaging across a number of issues in addition to affordability. Additionally, the topic on Congress’ mind this week and into next is DHS funding and another potential government shutdown. Republican strategist Ron Bonjean joined The Julie Mason Show on SiriusXM to discuss all of this and more.
Republican strategist and ROKK Partner Ron Bonjean joined BBC News’ The Context to discuss top headlines coming out of D.C. this week including US Attorney General Pam Bondi’s hearing, Instagram’s CEO rejecting the notion that users are addicted and more. Watch the full segment below.
Democratic strategist and ROKK Partner Kristen Hawn joined Bloomberg’s Balance of Power to discuss the vote in the House around supporting tariffs on Canada as well as US Attorney General Pam Bondi’s testimony on Capitol Hill. Watch the full episode here.
As we inch closer to the midterms, slightly more Americans think Democrats, not Republicans, are the party most committed to reducing energy prices, a new POLITICO poll has found. On affordability, Ron Bonjean shared that “the affordability issue is going to be the major issue in the November election, and neither party has closed the sale on it with voters.”
Republican strategist and ROKK Partner Ron Bonjean weighed in on if either party is winning the affordability messaging battle or falling short in E&E News.
The first appropriations bill since 2019 passed last week in the House with some Democrats joining Republicans to get it through. Democratic strategist and ROKK Partner Kristen Hawn joined Bloomberg’s Balance of Power to discuss this and other headlines out of D.C.
Over the course of his second term, President Trump has communicated differently from every president before him. The long term question is if this will fundamentally change the presidency in a new era of communications.
Republican strategist and ROKK Partner Ron Bonjean weighs in on President Trump’s communication style during his second presidency in the Associated Press.
Some Republicans are concerned they could be erasing their gains with young voters, a blue-leaning demographic that President Trump made significant inroads with in 2024.
Recent polling has shown young voters overwhelmingly disapproving of Trump and the GOP amid increasing anxiety over the state of the economy, while young people played a big role in helping Democrats win in 2025’s off-year races.
Republican strategist and ROKK Partner Ron Bonjean shared his thoughts in The Hill on how Republicans can rebuild trust with young voters.