New York Rep. John Katko and Minnesota Rep. Erik Paulsen have been very popular with voters. Unbeatable? Maybe not, but certainly well-entrenched and able to win in very challenging environments.
But even popular incumbents have been swept from office during partisan electoral waves, and Republicans Katko and Paulsen should be…
I’ve interviewed at least 1,000 congressional candidates over the last 16 years, but never 16 candidates in two days.
More than 100 Democratic candidates running for the House descended on the nation’s capital a few weeks ago for candidate training hosted by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Leah and I…
Democrats haven’t struggled to recruit candidates, but this week’s results in Virginia should encourage any wavering House challengers to get off the sidelines. Even so, it remains unclear whether Tuesday’s sweeping victories portend a national electoral wave next year.
Two gubernatorial wins and unexpected gains in the House of Delegates…
Alabama. Feb. 9 filing deadline. June 5 primary.
2nd District (Martha Roby, R, re-elected in 2016 with 49%). 2016 Presidential Winner: Trump 65%. The congresswoman looked at risk of another primary challenger after facing down one in 2016 and getting less than 50 percent in the general election when a…
Kansas. June 1 filing deadline. Aug. 7 primary.
2nd District (Open; Lynn Jenkins, R, not seeking re-election). Trump 56%. The combination of an open seat and a strong Democratic candidate makes this a competitive race, even though Trump won handily. Former state House Minority Leader Paul Davis carried the 2nd…
North Carolina. Feb. 28 filing deadline. May 8 primary.
2nd District (George Holding, R, re-elected 57%). Trump 53%. Businessman Sam Searcy, who owns a vodka distillery and has the ability to self-fund, could mount a serious challenge to Holding. Searcy raised just $95,000 in the third quarter but put in…
Lauren Baer
Candidate for Florida’s 18th District
Interview Date: Oct. 30, 2017
Date of Birth: Dec. 7, 1980; New York, N.Y.
Education: Harvard (2002), Oxford (Master’s 2004), Yale Law School (2007)
Elected Office: None; first run for office
Current Outlook: Democrat Patrick Murphy held this seat for two terms before…
Paul Davis
Candidate for Kansas’ 2nd District
Interview Date: Oct. 12, 2017
Date of Birth: July 12, 1972; Woodland, Ca.
Education: University of Kansas (1995), Washburn Law School (1997)
Elected Office: State House (former); 2014 gubernatorial nominee
Current Outlook: Davis is running for Republican Lynn Jenkins’ open seat, which Trump…
Roger Dean Huffstetler
Candidate for Virginia’s 5th District
Interview Date: Oct. 12, 2017
Date of Birth: April 28, 1978; Gaston County, N.C.
Education: University of Georgia (2001), Harvard (MBA/MPA; 2010)
Elected Office: None; First run for office
Current Outlook: Huffstetler is one of the top Democrats challenging GOP Rep. Tom…
Everyone take a deep breath. We’re all starving for tangible election results and now we have them. But just as the previous Republican wins in congressional special elections didn’t guarantee the party would have a good 2018, losses on Tuesday night don’t necessarily tell us a Democratic wave in the…
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