Archive

Pennsylvania 6: Challenger Murphy Leads in New Poll

August 4, 2006 · 9:50 AM EDT

A new poll for Democratic challenger Lois Murphy shows her leading GOP Cong. Jim Gerlach 42%-41%. While this is a statistical dead-heat, the results are significant given the President’s standing in the district and Gerlach’s far weaker position now than he was in his last race.

According to…

Maryland Senate: L’Affaire Steele- Apparently, Honesty Isn’t the Best Policy

by Stuart Rothenberg August 3, 2006 · 12:03 AM EDT

So now we know. The clues, actually, made this case easy to solve. It didn’t take forensics or truth serum or even a lie detector. No, it wasn’t Col. Mustard in the conservatory with the rope or Professor Plum in the hall with the candlestick.

It was Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele (R). In the…

Washington Senate: Is Mike McGavick the Republican Party’s Mr. Right?

by Stuart Rothenberg July 31, 2006 · 12:02 AM EDT

Chances are, if you are following the midterm elections in general, and the fight for control of the Senate in particular, you’ve heard of Mike McGavick. He’s the former CEO of Safeco, a major insurance company that he turned from a basket case into a profitable business.

I write neither to…

New Print Edition: Minnesota Senate & National Senate Overview

July 28, 2006 · 12:02 AM EDT

The new July 28, 2006 print edition of the Rothenberg Political Report is on its way to subscribers. (Click here for subscription information.)

Minnesota Senate: A Takeover or a Makeover?
By Barry Casselman

The open U.S. Senate seat contest in Minnesota resembles one of those new super rides at an…

Rhode Island Senate: Don’t Be Fooled- The Bull’s-Eye Is Still on Lincoln Chafee

by Stuart Rothenberg July 26, 2006 · 12:02 AM EDT

While most of the nation’s attention is focused on the Democratic Senate primary in Connecticut and the future of Sen. Joe Lieberman (D), the political career of Rhode Island Republican Sen. Lincoln Chafee is no less in doubt.

Not everyone accepts this assessment. Some continue to believe that…

Why It’s Too Early to Predict What May Happen in the House

by Stuart Rothenberg July 24, 2006 · 11:03 AM EDT

The Democratic Congressional polls keep rolling in, and almost all of them look very, very good for the party’s House hopefuls.

For example, a Cooper & Secrest survey for Democrat Joe Donnelly showed him leading Republican incumbent Rep. Chris Chocola by 10 points, 48 percent to 38 percent, in…

Getting on the Ballot Should Be the Easy Part for Hopefuls

by Stuart Rothenberg July 20, 2006 · 12:01 AM EDT

I’ve been writing about House and Senate campaigns and elections for more than 25 years, and I don’t think I can recall an election cycle in which so many candidates failed to qualify for the ballot because they did not submit the requisite number of signatures.

Let’s be brutally honest: You…

The DSCC’s Glass House

July 18, 2006 · 12:01 AM EDT

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee fired off an indignant press release Thursday on the heels of a Philadelphia Inquirer story detailing the work history of Christopher Lyon, a opposition researcher for New Jersey Senate nominee Tom Kean, Jr. (R).

Lyon’s work experience includes research…

The DSCC’s Glass House

July 18, 2006 · 12:01 AM EDT
By Nathan L. Gonzales

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee fired off an indignant press release Thursday on the heels of a Philadelphia Inquirer story detailing the work history of Christopher Lyon, a opposition researcher for New Jersey Senate nominee Tom Kean, Jr. (R).

Lyon's work…

U.S. Politics Through an Israeli Looking Glass

by Stuart Rothenberg July 17, 2006 · 12:02 AM EDT

A recent trip to Israel got me thinking about a question that I can safely say I had never considered before: If it plays well in Petah Tikva, a Tel Aviv suburb, can it also play in Peoria, Ill.?

The Israeli political system is very different from ours, since it is a parliamentary system. But…