The Republicans begin the marathon toward the 2008 presidential election without a prohibitive favorite for their nomination. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani lead in early polling, but their initial strength comes from their celebrity status, not their inherent appeal to primary voters and caucus attendees. Enter Mitt Romney, […]
With a little over nine months to go until Election Day, Democrats are headed for gains in the United States House of Representatives. The only question is exactly how big those gains will be. Democrats need a net gain of fifteen seats to get to the magic number of 218 seats and control of the […]
The new January 27, 2006 print edition of the Rothenberg Political Report is on its way to subscribers. (Click here for subscription information.) Illinois 6: Fighting ChanceBy Nathan L. Gonzales At first glance, you might think Illinois’ 6th Congressional District is the only race in the country. It’s received more media coverage recently than the […]
For the past few election cycles, I have followed the most vulnerable House open seats as a way of monitoring the two parties’ overall prospects for November. This cycle, there are relatively few inherently competitive open seats. But some open seats that would normally be reliably Republican could well see strong competition if the national […]
Republican Sen. Trent Lott’s announcement this week that he will seek a fourth term in Mississippi leaves Democrats with little room for error if they are to have any chance of capturing the Senate in November. ‘ Party strategists on both sides of the aisle agreed that Democrats would have no chance of defeating Lott […]
Sometimes, politics involves Machiavellian manipulation and elaborate scenarios based on risky judgments and hard-to-decipher bits of information. Other times, it’s so patently obvious what to do that it’s hard to understand why politicians choose an alternative route. Presented with a rare opportunity to send a message about change and reform, House Republicans seem ready, instead, […]
National Democratic leaders are looking to newly-elected Gov. Tim Kaine of Virginia to deliver their party’s response to President Bush’s State of the Union speech at the end of the month. But if Kaine wants to help himself, he should take this tremendous opportunity…and decline the invitation. Democrats believe that on the heels of his […]
For months, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, liberal Web logs and major media outlets have been trumpeting the large class of Democratic House candidates who are veterans of the military. More than three dozen non-incumbent veterans are running for Congress this year, all but a small handful of them as Democrats. While they have received […]