… Given how few Republican members of Congress represent competitive districts with sizeable Hispanic populations — there are only four seats Republicans hold that have a Hispanic population of 25 percent or more and were carried by President Obama in 2012 — and the strong feelings against reform within the […] Read more »
Red vs. blue: The battle lines of 2014
The conventional wisdom is that this fall’s congressional election will be all about Obamacare. Republicans, it’s argued, will try to expand their majority in the House and take the Senate with a campaign focused mostly on the failings of President Obama’s health insurance law; Democrats will fire back with warnings […] Read more »
Democrats Aim for a 2014 More Like 2012 and 2008
The Democrats’ plan to hold on to their narrow Senate majority goes by the name “Bannock Street project.” It runs through 10 states, includes a $60 million investment and requires more than 4,000 paid staff members. And the effort will need all of that — and perhaps more — to […] Read more »
Government Shutdown Best Thing to Happen to Boehner & GOP
Not so long ago, Speaker John Boehner was the leader of an undisciplined, deeply divided majority that seemed bent on self-destruction. Now, just three months after the disastrous GOP-led government shutdown, Boehner looks like a man in control of his party and his own legislative destiny. … After digging themselves […] Read more »
Are voters in an anti-incumbent mood? Don’t count on it.
A recent Gallup poll found that only 17 percent of registered voters think that most members of Congress deserve to be re-elected, a record low. They also note that years when this number was low correspond to larger turnover in Congress and ask, “Can 2014 be a wave election?” Our […] Read more »
For Democrats, It’s All About (Years) After November
Politics is often about keeping one eye on today and another eye on tomorrow. That’s especially true for Democrats, who should not be completely disheartened about their party’s prospects. November certainly looks like a challenging election for supporters of President Barack Obama — given the president’s anemic job approval numbers, […] Read more »