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November 9, 2009, 2:18 PM | Jordan Lieberman

It's almost time for the 2010 edition of the Political Pages. Make sure your firm is included in the latest directory. Download the order form here.

The deadline for entries is January 15, 2010.

November 9, 2009, 10:59 AM | Shane D'Aprile

The results of a ballot question in St. Paul, Minnesota that would change the way voters elect municipal officials remain in a state of limbo Monday. Both sides are awaiting the result of a court challenge that claims the measure passed, in large part, because supporters of the change falsely claimed it was backed by President Barack Obama.  

The measure to implement Instant Runoff Voting, or IRV, passed narrowly last Tuesday winning just over 52 percent of the vote. IRV is a method of voting that allows voters to rank candidates in order of preference—so you can identify a second or even third choice for one office on the same ballot. Supporters of the measure, led by the group Fair Vote Minnesota, claimed support from President Obama, the DFL (Minnesota’s Democratic Party) and the League of Women Voters. Opponent Chuck Repke, calls all three claims a lie.

November 6, 2009, 11:54 AM | Jeremy Jacobs

What do you do when you are an extremely unpopular governor and everyone – including the president – seems to want you to forego your reelection plans? How about start over?
 
New York Gov. David Paterson (D) launched two new ads that are his attempt to re-introduce himself after his spate of bad press.
 
In addition to his apparent impasse with the White House - which sent political director Patrick Gaspard to dissuade him from running, Paterson's numbers continue to be in the toilet. Just 28 percent view him favorably in the latest Quinnipiac Poll. And there is the general impression that Democrats are waiting for him to bow out so Attorney General Andrew Cuomo can run. Some big D.C. Democrats are throwing Cuomo a fundraiser in Washington later this month, Chris "The Fix" Cillizza reported Friday morning.

November 4, 2009, 3:10 PM | Shane D'Aprile

Tuesday’s victory for New Jersey Governor-Elect Chris Christie was never in doubt according to Christie’s pollster Adam Geller. Despite some last minute Republican skittishness over public polls showing a late surge in favor of the Democratic incumbent, Geller says the campaign’s internal polls had the Republican winning even in the best-case turnout scenario for Democrats.

November 4, 2009, 2:47 PM | Allen Raymond

A reliable Republican congressional seat now belongs to the Democratic Party because Sarah Palin woke up one day and decided it would make for good Facebook content to sabotage the Republican Party in NY’s 23rd Congressional District special election. Palin, whose sabotage was joined by Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-Minn.), couldn’t have found this congressional district on a map before this election. It did not take long for her and Pawlenty to drop in from nowhere and have a huge impact on the outcome of the race only now to move on to another victim to feed their ambition; like a science fiction characters devouring planets.

It clearly hadn’t occurred to the egocentric, selfish nature of Palin and Pawlenty that the Republican Party leaders in New York State knew what they were doing when they nominated Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava as their candidate in this special election.

November 4, 2009, 1:11 PM | Jeremy Jacobs

We're on our second cup of coffee and still analyzing the marquee races on Tuesday. Here are the points that jumped out at us last night and this morning.

• Christie wins big…bigger than anticipated. The size of Republican Chris Christie's win in the New Jersey Governor's race – 4 points over incumbent Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine – was surprising in this heavily Democratic state. The conventional wisdom was that we'd be up late waiting on the results. Instead, the race was called just after 10:30. This is the race that has to sting the White House most. President Obama invested more of his political capital here than the other big races. And analysts, eager to read national implications into the race, will undoubtedly focus on the Obama army, which won the Garden State by 15 points last year but stayed home this time around.

• In upstate New York, conservative grassroots turnout more bluster than voters. The White House can take solace in Democrat Bill Owens’ win in the special election for New York's 23rd District. The conservative grassroots movement to oust Republican nominee Dede Scozzafava in favor of Doug Hoffman, was one of the most anticipated going into Election Day. This race highlighted the divisiveness of the Republican Party and didn't really provide any closure for the GOP. The conservative wing of the party bullied the more moderate wing and, ultimately, failed to win an election. 

November 23, 2009, 10:26 AM | Jim Ellis

A new Rasmussen Reports poll (11/18; 570 AZ registered Republican voters) is likely causing heartburn for Republican former presidential nominee John McCain. Back in Arizona, the senator only leads former Rep. J.D. Hayworth 45-43% in a hypothetical 2010 Republican senatorial primary match-up.

Hayworth, now a Phoenix radio talk show host since losing his congressional seat to Democrat Harry Mitchell in 2006, has not yet launched a challenge to McCain, but is openly considering the possibility of running.

November 2, 2009, 6:00 PM | Shane D'Aprile

Judging by the final polls in the race for New Jersey governor, Tuesday could be a long night for the campaigns of Jon Corzine and Chris Christie. The latest Quinnipiac poll puts Christie up by two over Corzine—42 percent to 40 percent. Independent Chris Daggett is at 12 percent, with 6 percent of likely voters still undecided. And the latest numbers from Public Policy Polling put Christie up 6 points—47 percent to 41 percent. Daggett is at 11 percent in that poll with just 2 percent undecided.

The key for Christie Tuesday likely lies in his performance in two of the state’s bellwhether counties—Bergen and Atlantic.

November 2, 2009, 3:55 PM | Jeremy Jacobs

With less than 24 hours until Election Day 2009, we'll keep you updated on the most interesting developments in the races that will grab the most headlines. Since we focused our October issue on GOTV, we'll highlight any techniques we see the campaigns using as well as any polling and notable ads.

New York Special House Election 

November 17, 2009, 3:12 PM | Jeremy Jacobs

At the midway point of this midterm cycle, some of the country's top pollsters gathered in Washington to discuss what can and can't be discerned from the 2009 election results for the 2010 elections. Brown was joined by Scott Rasmussen of Rasmussen Reports and Tom Jensen of Public Policy Polling at a panel discussion hosted by CQ-Roll Call and emceed by Political Wire author Taegan Goddard. Greg Giroux, one of CQ-Roll Call's political writers, was also on the panel.

November 16, 2009, 5:18 PM | Jordan Lieberman

Campaigns & Elections’ Politics magazine is accepting entries for the 2010 Reed Awards, recognizing excellence among the political and public affairs community.
 
Entries may be sent through the Politics magazine contest portal. The deadline for submissions to the Reed Awards is December 18, 2009. 

November 10, 2009, 3:11 PM | Shane D'Aprile

A conservative political action committee is asking the Federal Election Commission to supersede a state law regulating robocalls in Minnesota. American Future Fund Political Action, or AFFPA, has filed an advisory opinion request with the FEC that argues the regulator should preempt the state law because it interferes with federal campaign finance law.

The law under fire in Minnesota is among the toughest in the country. It forces campaigns to begin their calls with live operators and get permission to play an automated message.