Archive for 2016
Strike Three
A recent Smart Politics report highlighted various U.S. House districts in which voters will have the choice of only one major party candidate on the 2016 general election ballot. Since redistricting and reapportionment in 2012, there have been six districts across the country to feature only one major party nominee in all three cycles. Democrats…
Read More1 in 7 US House Races Have Only One Major Party Candidate on November Ballot
New Hampshire has both the largest (179 in a row) and longest (since 1856) streaks of fielding U.S. House nominees from both major parties; Minnesota, Idaho, and Montana also have streaks north of 100.
Read MoreA Party Divided? Republican US Senators Setting Record Lows in Primaries
GOP U.S. Senators continue to win renomination, but many state party records are falling each cycle for the worst ever showings by a Republican incumbent.
Read MorePaul Le Page and a Brief History of Early Gubernatorial Exits in Maine
No governor from the Pine Tree State has ever resigned due to controversy.
Read MoreMcCain Breaks Own Record for Slimmest Primary Win by Arizona GOP US Senator
No other Republican senator from the Grand Canyon State has even received a primary challenger.
Read More2016 Libertarian US Senate Candidates at a Glance
A half-dozen Libertarians on the ballot this cycle had previously represented their party as a U.S. Senate nominee.
Read MoreDown to the Wire
In 36 of the last 47 cycles since 1828, the margin of victory in presidential elections has been less than one percentage point in at least one state. [And less than one-tenth of a percentage point in a dozen of these cycles]. Twenty-eight states hold the distinction of hosting the closest race over this 47-cycle…
Read MoreGo With the Flow
The White House has flipped partisan control four times across the nine presidential elections since Ronald Reagan defeated Jimmy Carter in 1980. Only two states have consistently followed the partisan ebb and flow of the U.S. electorate during this three-plus decade stretch by voting for the winning candidate in each cycle: Ohio (tallying 13 in…
Read MoreUpper Midwestern Democrats Could Make Historic US House Gains in 2016
Democrats could pick off five of the 11 Republican-held seats held in Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin (46 percent) – the second highest rate for the party in history.
Read MoreA Strong Performance By Trump Might Not Save Some GOP US Senators
Since 1972, 12 of the 27 Republican U.S. Senators to lose during presidential election cycles did so while the GOP White House nominee carried their state.
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