Henry Olsen
Senior Fellow
Henry Olsen, a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, studies and provides commentary on American politics. His work focuses on how America’s political order is being upended by populist challenges, from the left and the right. He also studies populism’s impact in other democracies in the developed world.
For media inquiries or to book Mr. Olsen for an interview, contact [email protected].
Click here to view the full archive of Mr. Olsen’s writings at The Washington Post.
Click here to view the full archive of Mr. Olsen’s writings at National Review Online.
Henry Olsen, a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, studies and provides commentary on American politics. His work focuses on how America’s political order is being upended by populist challenges, from the left and the right. He also studies populism’s impact in other democracies in the developed world.
Mr. Olsen is an opinion columnist for The Washington Post, where he writes daily pieces focusing on politics, populism, foreign affairs and American conservative thought. He is also the author of The Working Class Republican: Ronald Reagan and the Return of Blue-Collar Conservatism and The Four Faces of the Republican Party, co-authored with Dante Scala.
Mr. Olsen is teaching as the Thomas W. Smith Distinguished Scholar-in-Residence at Arizona State University for the Winter/Spring 2023 semester.
Mr. Olsen was previously an editor at UnHerd.com and a regular contributor to American Greatness, City Journal, and World Magazine. Mr. Olsen’s work has been featured in many prominent publications, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, National Review, The Guardian, and The Weekly Standard.
His predictions of the 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, and 2018 elections were particularly praised for their remarkable accuracy. In the 2016 campaign, he accurately identified the factors fueling the rise of Donald Trump early in the race, and his election-eve predictions were among the most accurate of any major analyst or commentator.
Mr. Olsen has worked in senior executive positions at many center-right think tanks. He most recently served from 2006 to 2013 as Vice President and Director, National Research Initiative, at the American Enterprise Institute. He previously worked as Vice President of Programs at the Manhattan Institute and President of the Commonwealth Foundation.
Mr. Olsen started his career as a political consultant at the California firm of Hoffenblum-Mollrich. He then worked with the California State Assembly Republican Caucus before attending law school. He served as a law clerk to the Honorable Danny J. Boggs on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and as an associate at Dechert, Price & Rhoads. He has a B.A. from Claremont McKenna College and a J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School, where he served as Comment Editor for the University of Chicago Law Review.
A Bad Beat for Republicans—But Not Fraud
Henry Olsen
Plenty of Republicans and Trump fans are crying foul at the number of congressional seats that have moved towards the Democrats since Election Day. I understand why people are upset—but there’s no hanky panky afoot. Our election system is broken, but it is not saturated with fraud.
Articles
American Greatness / November 29, 2018
The Blue Wall
Henry Olsen
Donald Trump is president because he broke the “blue wall” in the Rust Belt. But Democrats performed very well in most of those states in the midterms, raising expectations that they can retake the region and thereby deny Trump reelection. And a close read of the returns gives reason for hope and concern on both sides.
Articles
National Review - December 3, 2018 issue / November 29, 2018
Arizona Illustrates the RINO Revenge
Henry Olsen
Across the nation, moderate college-educated independents who had frequently backed Republicans in prior elections switched sides. We can see this trend both in the Arizona exit polls and the results reported to date.
Articles
American Greatness / November 13, 2018
What Did the Midterms Reveal? A Divided America
Henry Olsen
The U.S. is split into two separate nations, with two different election verdicts – and positive news for Trump supporters.
Articles
The Guardian (UK) / November 12, 2018
How the GOP Might Win in 2020
Henry Olsen
The GOP’s massive midterm losses in traditionally Republican suburbs have set it irretrievably on a new path. Either it re-creates a William McKinley-style coalition based on the working-class voter or it dies.
Articles
The Washington Post / November 9, 2018
Democrats Need to Win Back the Obama-Trump Voter. Will They Succeed?
Henry Olsen
Six million people who voted for Barack Obama in 2012 switched parties to back Donald Trump in 2016. Can the Democrats win them back?
Articles
The Guardian (UK) / November 6, 2018
Election Memo: The RINOs Will Take Their Revenge
Henry Olsen
On Election Day, the new Democrat–RINO alliance will retake the House, sweep the GOP out of governor’s mansions in most purple states, and end the careers of hundreds of suburban state legislators. In the Senate, it will most likely hold Republicans to a one- or two-seat gain despite an incredibly favorable map — and may even win the Democrats a seat.
Articles
National Review Online / November 5, 2018
Blue Wave, or Breaking Red?
Henry Olsen
The consensus view regarding the likely outcome for the midterms is that Democrats regain control of the House, and Republicans add seats in the Senate. But some Trump backers, perhaps those who are not loyal, rock-red Republicans, still have time to make up their minds. How they vote will likely determine whether November 6 results in a blue wave or another surprising election night.
Articles
City Journal / November 4, 2018
Four ‘What Ifs’ for the Midterms
Henry Olsen
The presence of known unknowns is one reason why election forecasting will never be a science despite the ongoing efforts to create elaborate predictive models. Models can be very helpful, but they are only as good as the assumptions built into them.
Articles
American Greatness / November 2, 2018
Election Energy
Henry Olsen
Many political pundits claim that Democratic enthusiasm will be the key to this year’s midterm elections. But the real effect of that enthusiasm might be found elsewhere.
Articles
World Magazine / October 25, 2018
Blue Wave, Red Tide, or Something in Between?
Henry Olsen
Midterm polling data suggest a mild blue wave in the House but little likelihood of a Democratic tsunami that could also flip the Senate.
Articles
American Greatness / October 16, 2018
How Trump Might Persuade Immigrants to MAGA
Henry Olsen
A new path forward on immigration means crafting something that works for all Americans, the newcomer and the long-termer. While President Trump’s backers rightly contend that long-time Americans’ views are too frequently being discarded, Reihan Salam’s new book is good reminder that newcomers must also be incorporated into a Trumpist future if we are to avoid civil war.
Articles
American Greatness / October 2, 2018
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