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.
How ‘The Stupid Party’ Earned Its Name
Henry Olsen
A new book explains how conservatism has become both unable to argue rather than assert and uninterested in persuading Americans who are not already true believers to join the cause.
Articles
The Weekly Standard / January 27, 2016
To Attract Disillusioned Voters, the GOP Must Understand Their Concerns
Henry Olsen
The constituency that is rallying to Trump is not fully conservative, but it shares more values with conservatives than do any of the other constituencies that could possibly be enticed to join our cause.
Articles
National Review - January 25, 2016 issue / January 21, 2016
Finding Iowa’s Cyclone
Henry Olsen
Just as John Edwards and Rick Santorum popped up out of nowhere to destroy the Presidential dreams of Dean, Gephardt, Gingrich, and Perry, so too might someone emerge this year to damage or destroy Ted Cruz’s, Donald Trump’s, or Marco Rubio’s dreams. Who might that person be, and can we predict their rise beforehand?
Articles
National Review Online / January 19, 2016
Iowa Isn’t Over: It Has Barely Begun
Henry Olsen
The media have decided that Iowa is a two-man race between Donald Trump and Ted Cruz. That may end up being true, but past history suggests someone will surge in the last two weeks to take first or second in a huge upset.
Articles
National Review Online / January 19, 2016
A New Homestead Act—To Jump Start the U.S. Economy
Henry Olsen
The GOP should propose a new Homestead Act that reforms federal tax law, unemployment compensation, income-support efforts and welfare programs to encourage worker mobility.
Articles
The National Interest - January/February 2016 issue / December 16, 2015
Interview with Henry Olsen: How You Win a GOP Primary
Henry Olsen
Henry Olsen, author of the new book The Four Faces of the Republican Party discusses his analysis of the GOP electorate and its implications for the race.
Articles
Washington Post / December 9, 2015
The Polls May Be Underestimating Trump’s Support
Henry Olsen
Whether Donald Trump’s support strengthens or fades, the real issue remains: Millions of working-class voters are angry, and their anger is not going to quickly disappear even if their current champion does.
Articles
The Atlantic / December 9, 2015
A Deep Dive into Trump’s Poll Numbers Shows Most Pundits Get Him Wrong
Henry Olsen
While poll numbers superficially suggest that Donald Trump’s chances of winning the nomination are better than commonly thought, an even closer look shows that Trump’s appeal is likely to be deep but very limited.
Articles
National Review - September 7, 2015 issue / August 24, 2015
Walker, Rubio Health Plans Renew Reaganism for Our Age
Henry Olsen
New health care proposals by Republican candidates mark a monumental development for both the campaign and for the conservative movement, one that breathes Ronald Reagan’s soul into the Republican nomination fight.
Articles
RealClearPolitics / August 19, 2015
Why Kasich Matters (and Could Win)
Henry Olsen
Ohio Governor John Kasich is slowly positioning himself to become the person most likely to surprise and break out of the crowded GOP primary pack.
Articles
National Review Online / June 23, 2015
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