Analysis

1217 Results

Best and Worst Of the 2012 Campaigns: Part I

As another election year draws to a close, it’s time again for me to pick the cycle’s winners and losers, my most and least favorite candidates, and those who distinguished themselves by skill or by old-fashioned dumb luck. After three successive partisan wave elections, the overarching takeaway from the 2012 cycle is that candidates and […]

Handicapping 2014: A Pause Could Add Perspective

The tendency to begin analyzing the next election cycle even before the votes have been counted in the last one shows no indication of abating, unfortunately. While I have chosen to defer a detailed, race-by-race look at the 2014 elections (both in this column and in my newsletter) until after the first of the year […]

DeMint Surprise Exit Sets Up S.C. Scramble

South Carolina Republican Sen. Jim DeMint’s shocking news on Thursday that he would step down from the Senate to lead The Heritage Foundation sets off an uncertain scramble in the Palmetto State for virtually all of the state’s top three offices in 2014. With DeMint, a second-term senator who’s been an outspoken conservative and often […]

For the Fiscal Cliff Talks, It’s Back to the Future Again

Anyone who hoped that Democrats and Republicans could find a quick way to avoid the upcoming fiscal cliff should by now know that we are heading for another of those buzzer-beater endings — if Congress and the White House beat the buzzer at all. While President Barack Obama and Speaker John A. Boehner said the […]

Dissecting the North Dakota Senate Race

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Supermajority Within Reach for Senate Democrats

Just two years ago, Republicans seemed likely to have a chance at 60 Senate seats following the 2014 elections. But things certainly changed after Democrats won 25 of the 33 seats up this year. Instead, GOP strategists need to worry about whether Democrats will be in the position to win a filibuster-proof supermajority in 2016. […]

Hollywood Cachet Doesn’t Always Cash In

Today’s question: What do the following people have in common: actors Alec Baldwin and Robert Redford, former Green Bay Packers quarterback Bart Starr and former New York Rangers goalie Mike Richter? Answer: Each of them is a bona fide star, and each was mentioned at some point as a possible candidate for the House or […]

Perfect Storm for Democratic Pickups

While most members of the national media have focused on President Barack Obama’s narrow popular vote/substantial electoral vote victory, the far more stunning results occurred in the Senate. Though defending 23 seats to the GOP’s 10, Democrats added two more seats last week (counting Maine independent Angus King). That was a mind-boggling result, especially considering […]

Mixed Message: Divided Nation Is Still Divided

Tuesday’s results were not unexpected, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t send shock waves through the political establishment. The president was re-elected at the same time Democrats retained the Senate and Republicans continued to hold the House, but the elections seem to raise more questions about the future for the GOP. While the president won […]

Jumping to Conclusions on the 2012 Elections

If there is one thing that you can probably bet on, it is that the winners and losers in today’s balloting will draw the wrong conclusions from the outcome. The winner of the presidential election — of 270 votes in the Electoral College — will almost certainly see his victory as confirmation that Americans support […]