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Hey guys,
It’s Sarah. Hope you had a great long weekend. I’m sending you this email tonight because we’re trying out something new here. As you know, for years I’ve been conducting focus groups with all types of voters. We talk about what I hear from them on the Focus Group pod. Now we’re digging deep into the focus group archives to find compelling stories that build up over time. It’s the type of journalism that is both informed and, ideally, ahead of the curve. It allows us to spot trends before anyone else—although, in the case of the newsletter you’re about to read, it’s not a trend most sane people will enjoy.
We’re doing this thanks to the support of our Bulwark+ members. If you want to become one, well, you’re in luck. We have a great Memorial Day sale going. Just click that button below.
Thanks!
—Sarah
We’re Not Talking Enough About President Candace Owens
But voters tell me all the time that they’re here for it.
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WHEN HUNTER BIDEN DECIDED to sit down with Candace Owens, it was the melding of two of the internet’s main characters: an antisemitic conspiracy theorist and a presidential son with a long history of erractic behavior. True to form, the duo chopped it up about Epstein, Gaza, and (naturally, this being Owens) Charlie Kirk’s assassination.
For many, it was shocking to see the son of a Democratic president—and an erstwhile villain in the MAGA mythology—mixing it up with one of the right’s most cracked conspiracy theorists. But Biden’s decision to go on Owens’s show didn’t surprise me at all.
In fact, it was the latest example of a phenomenon I’ve been hearing in my focus groups lately. Owens is one of the break-out media stars of our era. Her influence is increasingly not confined to MAGA Republicans. In fact, over the last five years, few individuals come up more regularly than her as non-politicians who people see as a possible future president.
Yes, president.
“I think Candace Owens is great. I would vote for her in a minute,” said Mycal, a Biden-to-Trump voter from North Carolina, in a February 2025 focus group.
“If we would’ve swapped out Candace for Kamala, they would’ve had this in the bag,” said Daniela, a Biden-to-Trump voter from North Carolina, in the same session.
In January 2026, when we asked a group of Trump-voting Gen Z women who they would be excited to vote for in 2028, Kim from Virginia said:...
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