An upstart challenger wrestles a Republican primary victory from the House majority leader Eric Cantor. Senator Thad Cochran of Mississippi faces a vigorous challenge for his seat in a runoff election Tuesday. The pressure on established candidates has many people asking: Is the Tea Party having another moment? A new […] Read more »
Democrats Face Unfair Fight in Midterms
… In politics and polling, as in real estate, underwater or “upside down” approval ratings are not a good thing for an elected official. Moreover, in the case of a president heading into a midterm election, with the midterm often said to be a referendum on the incumbent president, this […] Read more »
What We Can Learn From Eric Cantor’s Defeat
… In truth, when an election result hits “10 on the political Richter scale” of shock value, there usually isn’t just one reason for the outcome, but lots of them acting in concert. While surveying the wreckage, Cantor adviser John Murray acknowledged his boss’s loss amounted to “death by a […] Read more »
Republicans and the ‘Anger Gap’ Advantage
Even though I have lived in Washington for almost 25 years, I like to think of myself as only slightly cynical. I don’t hate politics or politicians. I think our electoral system, while imperfect, is still pretty good. I think voters are smarter than we give them credit for. However, […] Read more »
NBC/WSJ poll results are nothing short of eye-popping for Obama
How bad is it? The president’s job approval (41%) is tied with his worst EVER job rating recorded by NBC/WSJ. The president has been bumping along the bottom for a while now – the other “41″ was measured just recently in March. To put this number in context, the president’s […] Read more »
What’s changed in the Republican party in the last 9 days. And what hasn’t.
It’s been nine days since Eric Cantor’s primary defeat stunned the political world and set off not only a race to replace him in Republican leadership but a deeper examination of where the party is and where it’s going. With the party choosing new(ish) leaders in Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) as […] Read more »