Some statistics from Tuesday's presidential primaries in Arkansas and Kentucky, based on unofficial returns: Number of counties Barack Obama lost in Arkansas: 35 of 75 Number of counties Barack Obama lost in Kentucky: 68 of 120 Number of counties Barack Obama lost in West Virginia: 9 of 55 Number of counties Barack Obama lost in Oklahoma: 15 of 77 Number of counties Barack Obama lost in Alabama: 6 of 67 Number of parishes Barack Obama lost in Louisiana: 3 of 64 Number of votes cast for Barack Obama in Arkansas: 94,852 Number of votes cast for Mitt Romney in Arkansas: 102,930 Number of votes cast against Barack Obama in Arkansas: 67,491 Number of votes cast against Mitt Romney in Arkansas: 47,764 Total number of votes ... Continue reading →
It’s not exactly news: there’s a swath of the nation that can’t stand Barack Obama. Voters there didn’t like him in 2008 and on Tuesday their disdain for the president resurfaced in Democratic primaries in Arkansas and Kentucky, where Obama won with less than 60 percent of the vote – an anemic performance for an incumbent. The region in question is the Upland or Upper South: its borders range roughly from eastern Oklahoma to western North Carolina and northward to include Appalachia. It’s similar in many ways to the Deep South but still culturally, politically and economically distinct. The heart of the Obama resistance is located in the coal country of Kentucky and West Virginia, places that first signaled their opposition to Obama in 2008 ... Continue reading →
Primary challenger Dan Liljenquist rolled out a new tv spot Tuesday criticizing GOP Sen. Orrin Hatch for not agreeing to more debates. But debate dodging charges – and the heat that Hatch is taking over the issue from various Utah newspaper editorial boards – aren’t the most serious threat to Hatch. Right now, his biggest enemy is the clock. Hatch was relatively well-positioned for the June 26 primary, even after he was denied the party nomination at the April Utah GOP convention. He had more money than Liljenquist, was better known, and the broader primary electorate was better suited for him than the collection of delegates who voted at the state convention. But in the month since then, alot has happened. GOP Sen. DIck Lugar ... Continue reading →
It's still not entirely clear whether Pennsylvania qualifies for true swing state status this year. Public Policy Polling released a survey Tuesday suggesting that it doesn't -- according to the Democratic polling firm, President Obama holds an 8-point advantage over Mitt Romney. "It doesn't look like Obama's going to have to worry too much about Pennsylvania this year," concluded director Tom Jensen. But early television ad buys on both sides signal otherwise and place the state in the company of undisputed battleground states like Colorado, Florida and New Hampshire. One of Pennsylvania's top analysts, Franklin & Marshall College Poll director Terry Madonna, also foresees a tight race. Madonna recently outlined 7 key counties that will likely determine the Pennsylvania outcome: the big four suburban counties ... Continue reading →
The advantages of incumbency still outweigh the drawbacks, as shown by two California events this week. In an attempt to highlight his role in creating the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, Democratic Rep. Howard Berman kicks off his “accomplishments tour” today on the “Berman Trail” -- named, naturally, after the veteran Southern California congressman. The event follows Monday’s renaming of a major road in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park in honor of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. Pelosi is currently in her 25th year in Congress and Berman is approaching his 30th, so credit is due for devoting a significant portion of their careers to public service. But they’re also running for re-election, so the memorials to their tenure serve another purpose as long as they ... Continue reading →
There are no gubernatorial or Senate races on the ballot today in Arkansas and Kentucky, and the GOP presidential nomination is a foregone conclusion. But here are a few storylines that bear watching tonight in the only two states where voters will go to the polls: The rising star In Arkansas’ 4th District, which covers much of the southern part of the state, Iraq War veteran Tom Cotton has captured national attention in his bid to succeed retiring Democratic Rep. Mike Ross. But his path to Congress isn’t quite paved yet – while he carried a lead in the most recent public poll, he faces a tough challenge from Beth Anne Rankin, a former Miss Arkansas and the GOP’s 2010 nominee against Ross. Rankin carries ... Continue reading →
Mitt Romney's List Of Words He's Not Supposed To Say “I have a list of words I'm not supposed to say,” Romney said at a fundraiser today. “No, I'm just kidding.” Or is he? posted May 21, 2012 4:02pm EDT Continue reading →
In recent years, Congress has gone from speaking at an 11th level to a 10th grade level, according to a report from the Sunlight Foundation featured on NPR Monday, and while it's easy to see this as an example of our dumbed-down discourse, it seems more like a sign that our politicians are becoming better at communicating. The conclusion of a dumber Congress is based on running the entire Congressional Record through the Flesch-Kincaid test, which assigns text a grade-level based on factors like the number of syllables in a word and words per sentence. The Sunlight Foundation found that since 2005, Congress's grade level has plummeted. They broke down their results in a bunch of ways, by party and seniority for instance, and the ... Continue reading →
In New Hampshire, 2008 was a big Democratic year, led by Barack Obama’s easy win at the top of the ticket. Two years later, Republicans just about ran the table there, winning the state’s two congressional districts and control of the legislature. So how does New England’s only swing state look in 2012? At this point, writes WMUR’s James Pindell (behind paywall), it’s 2004 all over again. Eight years ago, there was a tight presidential race, including a Massachusetts nominee known locally. There were budding signs the governor’s race would be very competitive, even if the challenger was basically unknown. The battle for the State House and Senate could result in either party holding power, but then, just as it is now, conventional wisdom believed ... Continue reading →
