Politically speaking, Wisconsin and Minnesota are practically twins. They have voted the same way in the last seven presidential contests. They gave President Obama almost identical victory margins last fall. They share a common border, a common heritage, and the highest election turnouts in America. Yet based on how they are being governed, […] Read more »
How Republicans and Democrats see the same economy through different eyes
One of the most fundamental truisms in politics — that people vote with their pocketbooks — has become less clear cut in our culture of intense partisanship. Take Wisconsin. The state trails the nation in job growth, only you’re a lot less likely to think so if you’re a Republican […] Read more »
16 for ‘16, Part 2: An Elephant Rises From the Heartland?
As we discussed last week, the Democratic Party’s presidential field in 2016 hinges greatly on the decision of one person: Hillary Clinton. The Republican Party’s early primary picture is much more complicated, and the top-tier contenders are grouped much closer together at the starting gate. To us, though, there is […] Read more »
Why Wisconsin is a hotbed of political participation
With almost three-quarters of eligible voters going to the polls, Wisconsin not only ranked second in the nation in turnout last fall, but was one of only three states where turnout was higher in 2012 than it was in 2008. Why are people in some states more apt to vote […] Read more »
Can unions save the white working-class vote for Democrats?
Voters in union households provided a big boost to President Obama in Ohio and Wisconsin, where key battles over public sector unions have been waged. Their strong support helped him staunch big losses elsewhere among white working-class voters. White voters without college degrees made up nearly half of the total […] Read more »
Obama leads in Iowa, running neck and neck in N.H, Wis.
Less than a week before Election Day, President Barack Obama holds a statistically significant lead over Republican nominee Mitt Romney in the battleground of Iowa, while the two candidates are locked in tight races in New Hampshire and Wisconsin, according to new NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Marist polls. [cont.] Mark Murray, […] Read more »