FiveThirtyEight’s top politics stories this week

A [FiveThirtyEight]( email [Popular In Politics] Thursday, October 28, 2021 [1. Brad Raffensperger Says GOP Lawmakers Lack ‘Moral Courage’ On The Big Lie]( [Georgia Electoral College Voters Cast Ballots Amid Protests]( In early January 2021, then-President Donald Trump tried to persuade Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to overturn the state’s election results. Raffensperger rejected Trump’s requests as well as his unsubstantiated claims of election fraud. Now, Raffensperger is facing a primary in 2022 from Rep. Jody Hice, whom Trump has endorsed for Georgia secretary of state. [Read more]( [2. Democrats Worry A Lot About Policies That Win Elections. That’s Short-Sighted.]( [U.S. President Joe Biden speaks at the NJ Transit Meadowlands Maintenance Complex]( Democratic leaders, activists and strategists spend a lot of time discussing — and arguing about — policy under the assumption that the policies the party prioritizes affect whether they will win the next election. It’s been a big part of President Biden’s governing strategy so far, and one need look no further than Democrats blaming talk of defunding the police for losses in the House in 2020 or, conversely, citing health care in the 2018 midterm elections as the reason they did so well to understand the role they think policy plays in their electoral success. [Read more]( [3. What Do You Think Abortion Access Should Look Like In America? We Want To Hear From You.]( [An ultrasound machine sits next to an exam table in an examination room]( [Read more]( [4. Americans Don’t Trust Their Congressional Maps To Be Drawn Fairly. Can Anything Change That?]( [Two people look over a map of the current South Carolina Senate districts.]( The United States is in the middle of a once-in-a-decade process: redistricting. And although it’s early yet — 19 states aren’t expected to finalize their maps until next year — a number of states have proposed maps, and there are debates happening all across the country over which ones to pass. Six states have finalized maps. [Read more]( [5. Could Manchin Actually Leave The Democratic Party?]( [Capitol Hill]( Sen. Joe Manchin told reporters Wednesday that suggestions he would leave the Democratic Party were “bullshit” with a “capital B.” He’d previously told Democratic leaders that he’d consider becoming an independent if they felt it would help them explain to the public why the party was having such a hard time coming to an agreement on its social spending plans, but he denied that he’d made threats about leaving the party. [Read more]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Forecasts How popular is Joe Biden? [How popular is Joe Biden?]( [See all polls]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Weekly Listen [Play]( [Brad Raffensperger Says GOP Lawmakers Lack ‘Moral Courage’ On The Big Lie]( [FiveThirtyEight] [View in browser]( [ABC News]( [Unsubscribe]( Our mailing address: FiveThirtyEight, 47 West 66th Street, New York, NY 10023.