The results of the midterm elections are in, leaving Republicans with at least 52 Senate seats, along with the likely addition of Alaska, where Dan Sullivan holds a four-point lead. … The results were not unexpected. The set of Senate seats up for election in this cycle favored Republicans. Polling […] Read more »
The Midterms Were Not A Revolution
… It was a tsunami; someone needs to get the Democrats a towel. But that anti-Democrat wave was not the same as a pro-Republican endorsement. In many races that went from blue to red, Republican success was hardly because of what the G.O.P. has achieved on Capitol Hill. In fact, if […] Read more »
The Democrats’ Southern Problem Reaches a New Depth
… The inability of Southern Democrats to run well ahead of a deeply unpopular Mr. Obama raises questions about how an increasingly urban and culturally liberal national Democratic Party can compete in the staunchly conservative South. It raises serious doubts about whether a future Democratic presidential candidate, like Hillary Clinton, […] Read more »
No, That’s Not the Message Voters Sent Yesterday
… So, what are we to make of these results? To begin, it’s important to resist the inevitable tendency for pundits to overreach in their effort to discern “the message” the voters send yesterday. Already I am reading that the results indicate 1) a rejection of Obama, 2) a rejection […] Read more »
Why did Republicans outperform the polls?
As election results continue to roll in, the big puzzle of the morning is not why the Republicans won so many Senate seats – as was just noted in the previous Monkey Cage post, The Monkey Cage’s Election Lab did a remarkably good job of predicting this outcome — but […] Read more »
Did Republicans Conquer Obamaland?
… The lesson of the last decade in politics is not to over-interpret the results of any single election. The dominant trends in American politics were mostly reinforced yesterday: the country is increasingly polarized; the low-turnout midterm electorate benefits Republicans; the Senate will remain closely contested for the foreseeable future; […] Read more »