Senate News & Analysis

Gomez-Sanford Comparison on Obamacare Fails the Smell Test

by Stuart Rothenberg June 28, 2013 · 9:53 AM EDT

You only need to look at the first paragraph of an “opinion” piece on Roll Call’s website to see that it wasn’t worthy of being posted on our website – or anyone’s. I’m not even going to include a link because I don’t want anyone to read it. 

Is the Senate More Volatile Than the House in 2014?

by Stuart Rothenberg June 26, 2013 · 11:16 AM EDT

Next year, voters will go to the polls to elect 435 House members and 35 United States senators, but it seems quite possible that there will be more net change in the Senate than in the House.

If this occurs, it would be worth noting, since it has…

I Would Fly 5,000 Miles Just to Help You Get Elected

by Nathan L. Gonzales June 21, 2013 · 9:41 AM EDT

Rep. Edward J. Markey is getting widespread support from Massachusetts to Hawaii in his special-election bid for Senate in the Bay State. Wait, what? Hawaii?

Last weekend, freshman Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, took to the campaign trail along with a large collection of state, local and federal officeholders…

Why We Never Moved the Massachusetts Senate Race to Toss-Up

by Stuart Rothenberg June 19, 2013 · 9:36 AM EDT

Minutes after Gabriel Gomez was declared the winner of his party’s special primary on the evening of April 30, I tweeted that Gomez’s victory assured that the Massachusetts Senate special election would be “interesting.” And it has been.

But as the June 25 balloting approaches, it is clear…

The Barn Jacket as a Secret Campaign Weapon

by Nathan L. Gonzales June 13, 2013 · 2:53 PM EDT

Election Day is still more than a year away, but Illinois Republican Bruce Rauner is already deploying a popular campaign weapon: the barn jacket.

Rauner released two television ads on Tuesday in his bid to become the next governor in the Prairie State. In “Back to Work,” the…

Search for Anti-Mike Rounds Continues in South Dakota

by Nathan L. Gonzales June 13, 2013 · 9:33 AM EDT

Conservative groups are on the record with their distrust and distaste for former Gov. Mike Rounds in South Dakota, but efforts to find an alternative for the Senate race have come up short so far.

Rounds is the front-runner for the GOP nomination. He’s also the only Republican…

When the Nation Has the Blahs …

by Stuart Rothenberg June 12, 2013 · 9:37 AM EDT

Is the nation suffering from a national case of hypochondria, or are Americans rightly worried about the country’s future?

The answer depends, in part, on your (political) point of view. But it’s also true that every bit of good news — rising home prices, rising stock prices and…

Where Will the Millionaire Cattle Rancher Run in Nebraska?

by Nathan L. Gonzales June 10, 2013 · 9:21 AM EDT

A cattle rancher and a university president get into a Senate race. Sounds like the opening of a bad joke, but it could describe the new political terrain in Nebraska.

Now that GOP Gov. Dave Heineman has declined to run to replace retiring Sen. Mike Johanns, a handful…

New Jersey Senate Remains Safe for Democrats in Long Term

by Nathan L. Gonzales June 4, 2013 · 10:55 AM EDT

For the first time in more than 30 years, there will likely be a Republican senator from New Jersey.

But unless New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican, pulls a rabbit out of the hat, it’s likely that Republicans will have the seat only briefly — from six…

Report Shorts (May 31, 2013)

May 31, 2013 · 1:57 PM EDT

Alabama 1. Rep. Jo Bonner (R) announced he would be resigning in August to take a position with the University of Alabama system. He leaves behind a very Republican district that Mitt Romney won with 62 percent in 2012 and John McCain won with 61 percent in 2008. The…