Inside Elections

2006 House Ratings (May 18, 2006)

May 18, 2006 · 4:25 AM EDT

The Key Democratic Race for ’08: Bayh vs. Warner vs. Edwards

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

The race for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination won’t begin officially until after November’s midterm elections, but already there are signs that a race-within-the-race is developing to become the “alternative” to frontrunner Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y).

The three contenders,…

Nebraska Primary Wrap-Up

May 16, 2006 · 12:02 AM EDT

Last week’s heavyweight primary between Gov. Dave Heineman (R) and Rep. Tom Osborne (R-NE) lived up to the hype. Even though Osborne started with a large lead and seemingly impenetrable popularity, Heineman’s victory was neither a surprise nor an upset, but it was an incredible finesse campaign by…

Can Democrats Win These Four Uphill Open Seats?

by Stuart Rothenberg May 15, 2006 · 12:02 AM EDT

The Democrats have a real chance of sweeping three open seats in Democratic-leaning or tossup districts this fall: Arizona’s 8th, Colorado’s 7th and Iowa’s 1st. But they may need to win more open seats than that to take control of the House of Representatives.

To have the really big election…

New Jersey Senate: Most Likely Democratic Loss in ’06?

by Stuart Rothenberg May 11, 2006 · 12:05 AM EDT

I recently received an e-mail from a friend who also happens to be a very savvy observer of New Jersey politics and a veteran of Democratic Party wars. His point was both clear and concise: I was wrong in a recent column to identify the Garden State Senate race as the GOP’s best chance to pick up…

Ohio Primary Paints Clearer November Picture

May 9, 2006 · 12:05 AM EDT

A handful of competitive races got a whole lot clearer on Tuesday when Ohio voters went to the polls in their primary. And for the most part, Democrats remain well positioned to take advantage of Republican ineptness.

Of course even though the nominees have been chosen, these races are far from…

Can Bush Fill the Leadership Vacuum He Created?

by Stuart Rothenberg May 8, 2006 · 10:10 AM EDT

Once upon a time, polls showed that most Americans believed George W. Bush was a strong leader. Now, fewer than half of those polled give him credit for leadership, and his poll numbers also have plummeted on integrity and honesty.

In separate incidents, two Democratic pollsters told me…

Ohio Results Give Democrats Good News

May 6, 2006 · 12:06 AM EDT

Tuesday’s Ohio results were almost uniformly good news for Democrats.

In the best news, state Senator Charlie Wilson (D) overwhelmed two primary opponents to win the Democratic Congressional nomination in Ohio’s 6th District. Wilson’s write-in victory was backed by Democratic Congressional…

Is Tony Snow Likely to Bring Sunny Days to the White House?

by Stuart Rothenberg May 4, 2006 · 12:01 AM EDT

The Republican National Committee churned out a couple of press releases recently after Tony Snow was selected to be President Bush’s new press secretary. The gist of both releases was that Snow is a great pick.

The releases quoted a variety of Democrats, conservatives and journalists praising…

Tennessee Senate: Three’s Company

by Nathan L. Gonzales May 3, 2006 · 11:54 PM EDT

Senator Harold Ford. Those might be the three words Republicans fear the most on Election Night. If Democrats can successfully takeover the open Tennessee Senate seat being vacated by Majority Leader Bill Frist (R), they could well win a Senate majority in November.

Democratic hopes are riding…