Political Crumbs
Vote R & R in 2012?
With the selection of Paul Ryan as his running mate, Mitt Romney’s presidential ticket is now just the third in U.S. history in which the last name of a major party’s presidential and vice-presidential nominees begins with the same letter….
Read MoreRick Nolan, Meet Ernest Lundeen
Rick Nolan’s plurality victory in the Minnesota’s 8th CD DFL U.S. House primary on Tuesday brings him one step closer to a return to Congress after a 32-year absence. If he wins his general election matchup against one-term incumbent GOP…
Read MoreAkin Skates with Lowest Vote Tally Since 1928
U.S. Representative Todd Akin’s 6.0-point victory over John Brunner in Tuesday’s Republican U.S. Senate race in Missouri was the third narrowest GOP primary victory for the office in state history and the lowest percentage for a winning candidate in more…
Read MoreBachmann July Haul Shy of Q3 2010 Pace
Michele Bachmann made headlines Tuesday by issuing a press release on her campaign site that she raised more than a $1 million from July 1-25 – a period during which she was at the center of a controversy regarding letters…
Read MoreAll Eyes at the Top
A recent SurveyUSA poll of likely Minnesota voters unsurprisingly found a single-digit race on the top of November’s ballot (Obama up six points over Romney) and a blow-out just below (Amy Klobchuar up 24 on GOP challenger Kurt Bills). Such…
Read MoreThe GOP’s High Water Mark?
Upper Midwestern Democrats are hoping the large deficits they currently face in state legislatures around the five-state region (IA, MN, ND, SD, WI) do not grow in November’s elections. After the 2010 cycle, Republicans enjoyed a 144-88 advantage in state…
Read MoreSafety First
Although freshman Republican U.S. Representatives Sean Duffy (WI-07) and Reid Ribble (WI-08) are considered vulnerable by many D.C. prognosticators this November, redistricting has not spelled trouble for congressional incumbents in the Badger State over the last six decades. Since 1952,…
Read MoreSplitting the Electorate
With new polls released this week showing uncertainty at the top of the leader board in the Wisconsin GOP U.S. Senate race, the four-candidate field of Tommy Thompson, Eric Hovde, Mark Neumann, and Jeff Fitzgerald is likely to produce not…
Read MoreClimbing the Ladder
When Iowa Republican Chuck Grassley won reelection for a sixth term in November 2010 he and his fellow Iowa U.S. Senator, Democratic Tom Harkin, were 11th on the all-time list for the longest-serving delegation members serving together to the nation’s…
Read MoreChoices, Choices, Choices
In 2010, a total of 29 candidates ran across Minnesota’s eight congressional districts – good for the seventh highest per district average in the history of the state (at 3.63 candidates) across the 78 general cycles dating back to 1857….
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