The surge of unaccompanied minors coming over the U.S. borders looks to remain a hot topic for the 2014 midterms, as it adds another troubling dimension to Washington’s long-simmering, intractable fight over immigration. … But beyond the national headlines, the impacts may be highly localized. Immigrant populations tend to cluster […] Read more »
GOP Has Midterm Engagement Advantage
The Republican Party holds a clear advantage in voter engagement in this fall’s midterm elections, according to a new national survey by the Pew Research Center. Yet GOP voters are not as enthused and engaged as they were at this point in the midterm campaign four years ago, prior to […] Read more »
Georgia Runoff Shows Just How Unusual Mississippi’s Was
The Senate runoff Tuesday in Georgia underscored just how unusual the one in Mississippi a month ago really was. Both Republican contests featured an “insider-outsider” dynamic, with veteran incumbent Thad Cochran challenged by tea party favorite Chris McDaniel in Mississippi, and 11-term Rep. Jack Kingston facing off against first-time candidate […] Read more »
Will the president’s low approval rating cost Democrats the Senate?
One key factor in any election is the popularity, or unpopularity, of a president. An unpopular president can drag down his party and make life difficult for vulnerable incumbents in tough races. That can be especially true in midterms when fewer voters turn out. The ones who do show up […] Read more »
Montana Senate: A Real Race or Simply Manufactured Buzz?
Maybe you believe in coincidences. I usually do — but not four months from an election. Almost simultaneously, two different memos appeared from Democratic pollsters insisting the Montana Senate race has closed and the outcome of the contest is very much in doubt. CONT. Stu Rothenberg, Roll Call Read more »
Why Democrats Now Have a Shot in Georgia
In 2005 and 2006, two moderate Democratic candidates, Jim Webb and Tim Kaine, won in Virginia with large margins in the Washington suburbs. Their victories demonstrated that there was a new path to victory for Democrats, one that did not depend on winning Southern conservative Democrats, the way Mark Warner […] Read more »