Searchlight Institute

Public trust in our tax system has eroded — but to fund priorities like universal health care, we’ll need to restore that trust. Let's start by fixing what's already wrong with the tax code. Here’s how.

Republicans are on defense in a big way. Just look at where Trump is campaigning.

The ACLU is calling for Democrats to screw up on immigration again. Their asylum plan wrongly says enforcement doesn't work, policy doesn't matter, and that Democrats should lower standards for screening. Two words: Hell. No. www.searchlightinstitute.org/research/the...

Lower costs. Build clean energy. Pass BAAJA. ❤️

... Why are Democrats Reaganmaxxing?

We had a BAAJA Blast last night. 🌴🍋‍🟩🍹 Thanks to everyone who swung by our party for permitting reform hosted by @janeaflegal.bsky.social!

The time to pass bipartisan permitting reform is now. Not next year, not next Congress, today. Pavan makes the case for BAAJA.

“It’s hard to see this as anything other than being politically motivated given how close we are to the midterm elections,” Searchlight's Daniel Delgado said. www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2026/...

There are plenty of wins in BAAJA — the new bipartisan permitting reform deal announced by @whitehouse.senate.gov & @heinrich.senate.gov. One of those wins? NEW federal oversight over utilities and how they spend their money.

🚨 The time to pass bipartisan permitting reform is NOW. @janeaflegal.bsky.social: "If a Democratic president comes into office in 2029 and we haven't cleared the decks ... we're in real trouble. We have to get this done before 2028."

NEW: starting jan 1, a new federal tax windfall could kick in for rural data centers around the country new research from @searchlightinst.bsky.social shows dozens of projects potentially eligible for the break — as hyperscalers battle backlash against dcs

🚨 New Searchlight research, shared first with @mollytaft.com and WIRED, finds MORE THAN 100 planned data centers in rural America will be eligible for new tax benefits starting next year. www.wired.com/story/rural-...

Donald Trump’s indiscriminate and chaotic immigration agenda — and his Administration's overtly racist way of talking about it — has achieved what would've been unthinkable a year ago. Democrats now lead by a seven-point margin on immigration.

As Republicans become even more ideologically aligned with Trump's tariffs and his reckless war in Iran, Democrats are embracing ideological diversity. Heterodoxy, @adamjentleson.bsky.social writes, is why Democrats lead in 2026's toughest-to-win races. www.wordsinsearchlight.org/p/this-is-ho...

SEARCHLIGHT x HEATMAP @janeaflegal.bsky.social and @emilypont.bsky.social took the stage to discuss permitting reform, grid modernization, and the future of climate tech, clean energy, and decarbonization.

SEARCHLIGHT x @cleantomorrow.org Thanks to everyone who joined our NYC Climate Week kick-off last night!

Democrats are running on popular economic ideas — but they start to lose people from ideological rigidity on other issues. @adamjentleson.bsky.social: "What I advocate for is loosening up. Giving people room to come into this big tent that we want to build."

"Essentially, every single poll silently bakes in the pollster’s assumptions about who will show up on Election Day." Searchlight's @charlotteeffect.bsky.social writes in The Argument about how the line between polling and election forecasting has blurred. www.theargumentmag.com/p/polling-ha...

Democrats are running candidates who fit the states that they're aiming to win, like in Iowa and Kansas. They've got a real shot at flipping seats in those states — which voted for Donald Trump in landslides just two years ago.

Asking Democrats running in swing races — whose election depends on winning skeptical Trump voters — to focus on climate in their messaging makes any future climate policy less possible. It’s time the climate advocacy community realized that. www.wordsinsearchlight.org/p/i-know-a-m...

You had questions, I have answers!

For years, Democrats have chosen 50+1 Thinking, conceding that races could only be won on thin margins and that power changes hands every election. But to achieve progress the level of the New Deal, they will need to think bigger. It's time for Supermajority Thinking.

It's a beautiful day in the political neighborhood — all nine of them. From the Liberal Arts Left to Cul-de-Sac Conservatives, Lawn Sign Liberals to the Center Square. What kind of neighbor are you? Take the quiz! www.searchlightinstitute.org/political-ne...

All across America, there are kids as young as five years old who've racked up debt simply for wanting to eat a school meal. Let's put an end to this ridiculous cycle, Scott Moore writes. www.wordsinsearchlight.org/p/why-do-we-...