Inside Elections

2012 Senate Ratings (June 15, 2012)

June 15, 2012 · 11:55 AM EDT

2012 Gubernatorial Ratings (June 15, 2012)

June 15, 2012 · 11:54 AM EDT

Reflections on 20 Years as Accidental Columnist

by Stuart Rothenberg June 14, 2012 · 8:59 AM EDT

Twenty years ago this week, my first column appeared in the pages of Roll Call.

I had no intention of becoming a columnist or working for a newspaper, and I certainly had no expectation that two decades after my first column appeared in print I’d still be writing for Roll Call. As with most of…

Arizona 8: Caution—Special Results Ahead

by Jessica Taylor June 13, 2012 · 11:45 AM EDT

Democrat Ron Barber’s win over Republican Jesse Kelly in the Arizona special election to succeed former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D) should boost Democratic morale but does little, if anything, to change the outlook for control of the House this fall.

Of the special elections held this cycle,…

House Primaries: Democrats Continue to Struggle to Get Their Candidates

June 13, 2012 · 11:44 AM EDT

Democrats’ path ahead in targeted House races got even more difficult Tuesday night, as the party’s preferred candidates failed to advance to the general election in South Carolina and Arkansas.

In the Palmetto State, former Georgia (yes, Georgia) state Rep. Gloria Tinubu appeared to win the…

Senate Primaries: Match-Ups Set in Four Key States

by Nathan L. Gonzales June 13, 2012 · 11:43 AM EDT

No surprises in yesterday’s Senate primaries, but general election matchups are set in four key states: Maine, North Dakota, Nevada and Virginia.

The most interesting result of the night may have been in Maine, where state Sen. Cynthia Dill secured the Democratic nomination with about 45…

2012 House Ratings (June 13, 2012)

June 13, 2012 · 11:42 AM EDT

Can Any of These House Underdogs Survive?

by Stuart Rothenberg June 8, 2012 · 1:48 PM EDT

Remember their names: Reps. Charles Bass (R-N.H.), John Barrow (D-Ga.), Bobby Schilling (R-Ill.), Jim Matheson (D-Utah) and Robert Dold (R-Ill.).

If any of these five House incumbents survive, it will surprise most dispassionate observers (including some in their own parties). But upsets…

IE Strategy Borders on Art Form

by Nathan L. Gonzales June 8, 2012 · 10:32 AM EDT

Today’s “independent expenditure” isn’t as independent as you might think.

As this fall’s battle for the House and Senate comes into focus, party strategists on both sides of the aisle can, and often do, communicate, even though there is a “wall” separating the official side of the parties’…

What’s Different About the New ‘New Right’?

by Stuart Rothenberg June 7, 2012 · 9:37 AM EDT

Thirty-five years ago, just before I came to the nation’s capital, a political force emerged nationally and in Washington, D.C.

The “New Right” was a movement of conservatives who preached a more consistent and confrontational conservatism and mobilized evangelicals for the battle ahead.

In…