Public opinion of Mayor Vincent C. Gray has strongly rebounded in the eighteen months since scandal threatened to derail his mayoralty, with voters supporting him over all of his Democratic primary challengers, according to a new Washington Post poll. CONT. Mike DeBonis & Scott Clement, Washington Post Read more »
The Midterms and Unemployment Aid
This week, the Senate took up the issue of extending long-term unemployment benefits. The debate on the extension, which would aid 1.3 million Americans who saw their benefits end in December, is another sign of the rising prominence of income inequality as a topic in the 2014 elections. … For […] Read more »
The Parties Have Already Devised Their Midterm Messages
The gavel has been struck on what has been widely judged to be the least productive session of Congress in history, and now a new one with few, if any, expectations of improvement has commenced. It used to be that this first week of a session was filled with expectations—some […] Read more »
Republicans Really Could Win It All This Year
Another midterm election beckons, and over the next 10 months we’ll see headlines about a thousand supposedly critical developments—the “game changers” and the “tipping points.” But we all know there aren’t a thousand powerful drivers of the vote. I’d argue that three factors are paramount: the president, the economy and […] Read more »
In New Year, Half Are Looking Forward to Midterm Elections
As 2014 begins and the midterm election campaigns heat up, about half of the public (51%) is especially looking forward to November’s congressional elections while 49% are not looking forward to them. The new national survey by the Pew Research Center, conducted Jan. 2-5 among 1,005 adults, finds that 58% […] Read more »
Six-Year Itch Plagues Presidents in Midterms
It is as certain as the sun coming up in the morning. Whenever I (or any other political analyst) begin to describe potential dynamics in an upcoming election cycle by citing historical patterns and tendencies, “the look” appears. With some it is eye-rolling. Others shake their heads or suddenly just […] Read more »