In the lead-up to what promises to be a consequential midterm cycle, President Trump has offered American voters something unusual in the long history of democratic persuasion: a direct financial promise contingent on electoral outcome. At the same moment, young conservatives pause to mark a year since Charlie Kirk's death, weighing what his absence means for a party now navigating the tension between ideological conviction and transactional politics. Together, these moments ask an old question in a new register — what, ultimately, moves people to participate in the life of their democracy?
Trump pledges $5K to voters if GOP wins; conservatives mark Kirk's legacy
Politics & Governance