Hey, good morning, Playbookers, I'm Ruehumanolvalin. It's Friday.

Today's show, why the suburbs hold the key to upcoming elections.

It's your Politico Playbook Daily Briefing.

If you follow a playbook for a bit, you might know the name Doug Sosnik.

He was a senior advisor to then-president Bill Clinton, who now writes lengthy political memos.

Sosnick's latest is a very thorough 14-page dissection of the new politics of America's suburbs

that you can read in today's playbook.

It's essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the midterms and presidential race.

Race, income, and education have long been the three most important factors in figuring

out the partisan leanings of a district or state.

But increasingly, population density is all you really need to know.

The purest political backgrounds in America are found in areas with about 800 people per

square mile.

By the end of the Trump years, rural America was deep red and big cities were bright blue.

Zaznick writes, quote, the suburbs are the last remaining competitive areas left in the country.

Here's the thing, a lot of conventional wisdom about the politics of American suburbs is wrong.

Here he writes as the reality. Suburbs, quote, are more economically

and demographically diverse than inner cities. Suburbs have a more complicated mix of racial backgrounds,

languages, and countries of origin than inner cities. Suburbs have not swung decisively toward the

Democrats, despite their successes there in 2018 and 2020.

Here's what suburban voters dislike about the Democrats.

Quote, the cultural wars and identity politics of the Democratic Party.

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