Archive
Meet 3 Divergent House Candidates Worth Watching
April 10, 2014 · 9:59 AM EDT
While some observers of politics apparently are only interested in statistical models that predict electoral outcomes, I have always thought that candidates matter — both during campaigns and, particularly, when the victorious arrive in Washington, D.C.
In fact I have found interviewing…
GOP Congressman Skips Incumbent Label on California Ballot
April 9, 2014 · 10:04 AM EDT
California Republican David Valadao is running for re-election to the 21st District — but you wouldn’t know he’s the incumbent from his ballot designation.
In the Golden State, candidates can choose a short description to accompany their name on the primary and general election ballots. The…
Why Republicans Have Trouble Electing Women to Congress
April 7, 2014 · 9:55 AM EDT
Fewer Republican women are running for Congress in 2014, compared to last cycle. That’s a fact. But what it means — or whether it says anything at all about the GOP — is entirely a different matter.
Unfortunately, not every attempt to explain the development is even-handed and analytic.
…Mississippi Senator Thad Cochran, Underdog?
April 4, 2014 · 9:00 AM EDT
Forget about Matt Bevin’s challenge to Sen. Mitch McConnell in the Kentucky Republican primary or Milton Wolf’s bid to knock off Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts in that state’s GOP contest. The Senate primary to watch is Mississippi’s.
State Sen. Chris McDaniel has the best chance of any…
Nebraska Senate: Peak Timing
March 28, 2014 · 3:00 PM EDT
The first freshman senator for the 114th Congress will be chosen in less than two months.
In Nebraska, GOP Sen. Mike Johanns is retiring after just one term, leaving behind the fourth open Senate seat in the last 14 years. Because Nebraska is such a Republican state, the May 13 Republican…
West Virginia 3: The Ties That Bind
March 28, 2014 · 2:59 PM EDT
Democrat Nick Joe Rahall has been elected and re-elected to Congress 19 times to his southern West Virginia seat. But this November could be different, and his political future is very much in doubt.
As we wrote last May, “If Republicans get a reasonably good candidate, the national political…
Ohio 6: There Goes the Neighborhood
March 28, 2014 · 2:58 PM EDT
Ohio is usually at the epicenter of every election cycle. But after some shrewd Republican redistricting prior to the 2012 elections and a less-than-popular President Barack Obama, Democratic opportunities in the Buckeye State appear to be shifting from slim to none in this year’s midterm…
Rogers’ Retirement Makes Michigan 8 More Competitive
March 28, 2014 · 12:02 PM EDT
These Republican retirements must be driving Democratic strategists crazy. Some tantalizing districts have come open as formidable Republican incumbents have announced their retirements, but the midterm election environment is turning out to be very tough terrain for Democrats. And that makes it…