Latest News Updated: Upshot: What a Close Victory in Kansas Means

Wednesday, April 12, 2017

Upshot: What a Close Victory in Kansas Means

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Wednesday, April 12, 2017

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Political Calculus

In the final days, Republicans started to get nervous about Tuesday's election in Kansas. Senator Ted Cruz, left, tried to bolster the Republican congressional candidate Ron Estes, right, with a visit, and President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence made robocalls on his behalf. Mr. Estes wound up winning, but by a modest margin in a deep-red district.

A Republican Wins in Kansas. It's Still a Loss for the G.O.P.

By NATE COHN

A surprisingly close seven-point victory in a deep-red district suggests that the G.O.P. is heading for trouble in 2018.

People Like Us

Why Americans Vote 'Against Their Interest': Partisanship

By AMANDA TAUB

For voters in the United States, party affiliation is a way to express a bundle of identities.

Heavy Lifting

Can Trump and Congress Solve the Rubik's Cube of Tax Reform?

By NEIL IRWIN

Six confounding trade-offs in any tax deal show why this puzzle will probably prove arduous.

How Voters Shifted Left in the Kansas Special Election

By ALICIA PARLAPIANO

Kansas' Fourth Congressional District shifted 24 points toward Democrats in Tuesday's special election.

Highlights of the Week

A Matter of Degree

Lisa Martino reads to students in preparation for a job as a teacher in New York's universal pre-K program, for which she enrolled in a city-funded master's degree program in early childhood education.

Do Preschool Teachers Really Need to Be College Graduates?

By CLAIRE CAIN MILLER

Critics say mandating such a credential makes child care even less affordable and reduces the supply and diversity of people able to do the job.

What Trump Can Do Without Congress to Dismantle Obamacare

By HAEYOUN PARK AND MARGOT SANGER-KATZ

Some examples of what the administration can do to major provisions of the Affordable Care Act.

Bill O'Reilly's Show Lost More Than Half Its Advertisers in a Week

By KARL RUSSELL

Which companies are still advertising on "The O'Reilly Factor" a week after The New York Times published a story detailing how $13 million had been paid out to address complaints from women about Mr. O'Reilly's behavior.

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All Upshot articles are open for reader comments. For suggestions on how we can improve this newsletter, write to newsletters@nytimes.com. And if you have a compelling data set you'd like us to pursue, send it to dear.upshot@nytimes.com.

By NEIL IRWIN AND QUOCTRUNG BUI

In some parts of the country, adults with the lowest incomes die on average as young as people in much poorer nations like Rwanda, and their life spans are getting shorter.

Tax Day: Are You Receiving a Marriage Penalty or Bonus?

By AMANDA COX

The United States tax system is unusual in the way it levies a marriage penalty, or a marriage bonus, for couples who are not allowed to file like single individuals. The penalty or bonus depends on how much the couple make in total, and how evenly their income is divided.