Washington these days is the symbol of governmental failure, rocked by a shutdown, legislative paralysis and the disastrous debut of President Obama’s health care program. Public opinion of Mr. Obama and members of Congress is on a steady decline. But something different is taking place in statehouses. … The difference […] Read more »
Narrow tea party losses are wake-up call for Republicans
The Republican establishment went into last week’s off-year elections believing that the tea party insurrectionists who have ripped apart the GOP in recent years would suffer enough damage to force them into some kind of retreat. But no one thinks that happened. The expectation now is that the long-running internal […] Read more »
YG Virginia: Virginia Post-Election Survey
… At our request, McLaughlin & Associates surveyed 600 Virginia gubernatorial election voters on the evening of November 5th regarding their 2013 ballots and a variety of other timely issues. … In analyzing this wide-ranging survey, our main conclusion is that conservatives are most likely to succeed in the policy […] Read more »
Does VA Gov Explain the 1992 Perot Vote?
One more time into the question about the VA-Gov polls and the election results. I came up with a possible (and speculative) explanation based on the condition of two candidates who were not especially popular among their own parties, along with a sufficiently well-publicized third candidate. CONT. Jonathan Bernstein, A […] Read more »
Unmarried Women Cast Deciding Votes in Virginia Election
On November 5, 2013, Terry McAuliffe won the gubernatorial election with the overwhelming support of Virginia’s unmarried women. Unmarried women, who gave McAuliffe two thirds of their votes, matching President Obama’s vote among this group, were decisive in the Democrat’s narrow victory over Republican Ken Cuccinelli. While unmarried women turned […] Read more »
Victory Is in the Eye of the Beholder in New Jersey, Virginia and Alabama
Tuesday’s election results offer something for everyone. Democrats can look at Virginia and conclude that Republican “extremism” on social issues like abortion, contraception and guns, combined with the deep divisions that appeared in the Alabama 1st District GOP primary results, continue to offer them opportunities for 2014 and virtually guarantee […] Read more »