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How Dems Can Win on Immigration in 2026

Plus answers to questions on J.D. Vance, election conspiracy theories, and Mark Zuckerberg's political ambitions.

Dan Pfeiffer

Jan 3

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Happy New Year. If you’re reading this, it means we survived 2025—something that felt very much in doubt at the start of the year.

It’s now 2026. It’s an election year. I’m not going to tell you this is the most important election in history, but it is going to be a damn important one. I’m excited to write about the stakes, the context, and how Democrats can take advantage of the massive political opportunity in front of us.

Don’t forget to leave your questions for next week’s mailbag in the comments section.

Steve Snyder

Happy New Year Mr. Pfeiffer. I am going to try again on immigration. What would you advise a swing district Dem Congressional candidate to say about immigration? I would hope for something that is popular enough to counter Republican attacks, humane enough to be tolerated by the progressive base, sound enough to make sense to business interests (well, some of them), and credibly Democratic given the national party’s positions on immigration. I hope, but I have no Idea what that position might be. Please help.

Answer

I won’t pretend this is easy. If it were, Democrats wouldn’t be so wrapped around the axle on immigration.

As we think about the best positioning on this issue, it’s worth grounding ourselves in public opinion. Views on immigration are complicated, and they’ve shifted meaningfully since Trump weaponized the issue in the 2024 election...