Mitt Romney’s campaign woes have taken a toll on Republican candidates in Democratic-leaning or swing states. Polls show that some Republicans who had been running ahead of Democratic opponents have now slipped into tight contests, while others who had been surging around Labor Day have now dropped behind. The impact […] Read more »
Is it Mitt Romney’s fault, if he loses?
On Friday morning, Politico ran an article that chiefly attributed President Obama’s lead to Mitt Romney and his failures. Salon’s Steve Kornacki came to the opposite conclusion and concludes that the fundamentals of this cycle made Romney’s task of deposing Obama quite difficult. So, which is it? [cont.] Harry Enten, […] Read more »
Using Debates to Turn Electoral Tide: Difficult but Not Impossible
History shows that candidates have different ways to score in presidential debates: the forceful put-down, the surprising show of skill, the opponent’s fumble, superior post-debate tactics. But it also shows that to fundamentally alter the direction of a campaign, a candidate usually has to accomplish all those things. [cont.] John […] Read more »
Complex science, simple goal: Votes
Target wrote the book on targeting. The retail giant utilizes what’s called “predictive analytics” to influence the purchasing habits of its customers. And now, that same level of sophistication is shaping our political campaigns as they seek to drive their vote to the polls Nov. 6. Two books tell the […] Read more »
Ten races where Barack Obama could sink Democratic incumbents
There’s been a lot of media attention lately focused on Republican candidates who are distancing themselves from struggling presidential nominee Mitt Romney. But Mitt Romney’s not the only presidential candidate who made turn out to be toxic for some of his own party’s candidates. Barack Obama’s lack of popularity in […] Read more »
What Winning The ‘Catholic Vote’ Means Today
Since 1972, every single presidential candidate who has won the popular vote has also won the Catholic vote. But with Catholics making up one in every four voters, pinning down what exactly the Catholic vote is becomes tricky. [cont.] NPR Read more »