House News & Analysis

New Jersey 3: So Close, Yet So Far Away

by Nathan L. Gonzales July 8, 2014 · 4:00 PM EDT

Democrats haven’t had a lot of success getting Members elected to Congress from New Jersey’s 3rd District in recent history. But they got a taste of it for one term and believe they can take the open seat back this year.

From Bill Cahill to Edwin Forsythe to…

Arizona 7: The Name Game

by Nathan L. Gonzales July 8, 2014 · 3:59 PM EDT

Over 85 percent of all House seats are either safely Republican or Democratic, so primaries are of utmost importance in those because because they will choose the next Member of Congress. Democrat Ed Pastor is retiring from Arizona’s 7th District, leaving behind a safely Democratic seat that could be…

House Report Shorts (July 8, 2014)

July 8, 2014 · 3:58 PM EDT

Colorado’s 4th District. After falling short in one of the most famous Senate losses in recent political history, Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck is primed to become a member of the House of Representatives next year.

In 2010, Buck lost to appointed-Sen. Michael Bennet, 48 percent to…

Why Democrats and Republicans Can’t Be Friends

by Nathan L. Gonzales July 8, 2014 · 11:44 AM EDT

Roll Call’s fearless Editor-in-Chief Christina Bellantoni recently recapped the 53rd Annual Roll Call Congressional Baseball Game and described some of the bipartisan friendships that started to form on the field.

At the end of the post, she pointed to a common reason given to explain the increased…

How Parties Communicate Without Coordinating

by Nathan L. Gonzales July 7, 2014 · 9:23 AM EDT

Party campaign committees and outside groups aren’t allowed to coordinate, but as they outline their fall television ad strategies, interested groups are doing a very public dance to ensure they don’t step on each others’ toes and waste money duplicating efforts.

Now we have some specific examples of…

Senate Long Shots Find Success Down the Ballot

by Nathan L. Gonzales June 27, 2014 · 9:00 AM EDT

Giving up a run for office in the middle of a cycle may seem like admitting defeat, but for at least a couple of candidates this year, switching races may end up being the best political decision of their lives.

Republican Ken Buck was a Senate loser. The…

Beware ‘Anti-Incumbent’ Election Hysteria

by Stuart Rothenberg June 25, 2014 · 12:00 PM EDT

The defeat of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia is sure to lead to another round of speculation that the 2014 midterms might not produce a partisan-wave election, but rather one where large numbers of incumbents from both parties are sent packing by voters.

In fact, I…

Minnesota 8: Rumble on the Range

by Nathan L. Gonzales June 20, 2014 · 4:00 PM EDT

Rick Nolan was first elected to Congress in the 1970s when his beard was the most talked about hair in the race. This year it’s his Republican opponent’s long hair that is causing observers to take a second look at what could develop into a top tier House race.

Virginia 10: The Party That Cried Wolf

by Nathan L. Gonzales June 20, 2014 · 3:59 PM EDT

For at least a decade, Democrats have had their eyes on Republican Frank Wolf and his 10th District in Northern Virginia. Now that the congressman is retiring, Democrats have the open-seat opportunity they have been waiting for, but it might be precisely the wrong cycle for the takeover.

Report Shorts (June 20, 2014) SC Senate, Maine 2, Mississippi Senate, Virginia 7

June 20, 2014 · 3:58 PM EDT

South Carolina Senate. Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham won the June 10 primary with 56 percent, avoiding a potentially treacherous runoff two weeks later. None of the six challengers posed a serious threat to the senator in the initial race (the second place finisher received 16 percent), but a one-on-one…