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The dust may still be settling on the 2012 election, but there is good reason for conservatives to find optimism for the future. Recently, I found such hope reviewing the full exit poll data from our recent election. The bottom line on the presidential race was this: Mitt Romney lost the election because voters liked him less than Barack Obama. Despite claims otherwise, the election was not a referendum on Obama’s record or even red state values versus blue state values. Obama and the Democrats have claimed a “mandate,” but the data shows voters actually oppose President Obama’s programs like...

Many pollsters predicted a Romney win, but were proven wrong on Election Day 2012. Did pollsters fail to account for cellphone users, or did Romney fail at turning out the GOP vote? Did voter fraud play a role? Find out as Michael Barone analyzes the results of the 2012 election with Glenn Reynolds.

Last week, I pointed out that there is no such thing as a natural social-conservative skew among Latino Americans. But that leaves open a rejoinder, expressed by several readers: The GOP doesn’t need to get all of the Latino vote, just its fair share. That’s true, and I should have made my point clearer. In the wake of the election, some social conservatives have tried a new version of the old Silent Majority argument, contending that Republicans can continue to make their candidates pass litmus tests on abortion and gay marriage and still win national elections if only it taps...

A new CNN poll shows that more Americans would blame Republicans if the country went off the fiscal cliff rather than President Obama. 45 percent of those polled by CNN said they would blame Republicans more; 34 percent said they would blame Obama. But Republicans might have a political opportunity if they can convince Americans that President Obama is not working to cooperate with Republicans. According to CNN, nearly half say Obama is not doing enough to cooperate with the Republicans, although seven in ten want him to compromise with the GOP.

Wait a sec, you say. Didn’t Gallup find just six months ago that the number who describe themselves as “pro-choice” was at a record low? Indeed they did.But as the saying goes, my friends: Elections have consequences.More voters than ever now identify themselves as pro-choice when it comes to abortion, and most rate the issue as important to how they vote.The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of Likely U.S. Voters shows that 54% describe themselves as pro-choice on the issue of abortion, while 38% say they are pro-life.Let’s look at trends on abortion in a few recent polls. This...

Barack Obama is set to begin his second term, new statistics on America’s poverty rate indicate that nearly 50 million Americans, more than 16 percent of the population, are struggling to survive. New figures released by the Census Bureau this week found a spike in poverty numbers last year, going from 49 million in 2010 to 49.7 million last year. The numbers may come as a surprise to Congress, which estimated in September that the poverty rate would drop to 46.2 million.

Do you believe Maine should legalize, tax and regulate marijuana?

Nate Silver has gotten a lot of press for his near perfect election night predictions. In 2008 Silver gained popularity and influence after he called 49 out of 50 states. Many pundits were predicting that Silver would crash and burn in 2012. Instead, he outperformed his 2008 predictions and now that Florida has been called for president Obama, Silver can tout a perfect record 50 out of 50 states called correctly.How did Silver do it?Only Likely Voters Matter: This is one obvious reason SilverÂ’s method outshines everyone else. Anything other than likely voter models is useless information. This is key....

A record low number of American voters want to see the Affordable Care Act – Obamacare – repealed, according to a new post-election poll conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation. Obamacare was not the top issue driving American to vote, although nearly seven in 10 Americans cited it as a “major factor” in their decision choosing between the candidates, according to Kaiser. Voters who listed Obamacare as a major factor were evenly split between Republican Mitt Romney, 47 percent, and President Obama, 46 percent. But only 33 percent of Americans now want to see the law repealed. Romney had pledged...

The IBD/TIPP Economic Optimism Index declined by 5.4 points, or 10%, in November, posting 48.6 vs. 54 in October. The index is 0.4 points above its 12-month average of 48.2, 4.2 points above its reading of 44.4 in December 2007 when the economy entered into the recession, and 1.3 points below its all-time average of 49.9. Note: Index readings above 50 indicate optimism; below 50 indicate pessimism. The IBD/TIPP Economic Optimism Index has a good track record of foreshadowing the confidence indicators put out later each month by the University of Michigan and The Conference Board. IBD/TIPP conducted the national...

Tuesday, November 13, 2012 The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Tuesday shows that 55% of Likely Voters at least somewhat approve of President Obama's job performance. Forty-four percent (44%) at least somewhat disapprove. The president’s overall approval rating is up seven points from a year ago and is his highest since late June 2009 (see trends). Ninety-four percent (94%) of Democrats approve, while 82% of Republicans disapprove. Among those not affiliated with either major party, 46% approve and 51% disapprove.

There are at least three options in how conservatives respond to the election results: First, conservatives can take the Tucker Carlson, David Frum, and Bill Kristol approach by nominating even more moderate Republicans and shamelessly pandering to disparate constituent groups, hoping to cobble together a larger coalition than liberals. ...and toward what end? Abandoning core principles can only undermine conservatives' credibility, and liberals will just choose to demonize right-leaning candidates on other issues. Even if the cave and pander strategy is successful, then what is the difference between the parties? What is achieved? A variation on this approach is to...

FiveThirtyEight Forecast Updated 10:10 AM ET on Nov. 6 Electoral Vote Barack Obama 313.0 Mitt Romney 225.0 Chance of winning Barack Obama 90.9% Mitt Romney 9.1% ...

BOSTON—The presidential race is tied going into Election Day. The final POLITICO/George Washington University Battleground Tracking Poll of 1,000 likely voters — conducted Sunday and Monday — shows Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama each claiming 47 percent nationally. Our previous poll, conducted Monday through Thursday of last week, found the race tied at 48 percent. Although Romney and Obama have each led at times, the two candidates have stayed within the margin of error since the spring. (Also on POLITICO: 9 takeaways from the 2012 election) Independents break for Romney by 15 points, 47 percent to 32 percent.

Tuesday, November 06, 2012 The final Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll of Election 2012 shows Mitt Romney attracting support from 49% of voters nationwide, while President Obama earns the vote from 48%. Two percent (2%) prefer some other candidate. See daily tracking history. Rasmussen Reports will continue tracking the president’s job approval rating and other topics, and new results will be updated daily at 9:30 a.m. Eastern (sign up for free daily e-mail update). Both candidates are viewed favorably by 50% of voters nationwide.

Im just getting word a team of GOP techies are launching a full site sometime tomorrow called "Nate Silver Was Wrong"..they've already launched a Facebook and Twitter..LOL..Hilarious

If the polls are correct, and President Obama wins a narrow Electoral College victory on Tuesday, the pivotal moment of the 2012 presidential race may have actually occurred in 2009. About two months after taking office, Mr. Obama set the terms of the government’s rescue of General Motors and

Down 16% overall, down from 54,340 in 2008 to 45,337 this year-- down 9,007 or 16%. And most of the decline came from Democratic voters. The numbers show a huge increase in GOP voters here: Democrats: 127,741 53.36% or 89% of 2008 Republicans: 47,091 19.67% or 138% of 2008 Other: 64,544 26.96 or 78% of 2008 Total: 239,376 or 84% of 2008 Compare this with the 2008 results: Obama: 458,422 69.05% McCain: 199,880 30.11% Total difference: 258,242 If GOP voting is up 38% in just the early voting and the Republicans are better prepared for election day, they could narrow...

Yup. That’s right. A landslide for Romney approaching the magnitude of Obama’s against McCain. That’s my prediction. On Sunday, we changed our clocks. On Tuesday, we’ll change our president. Romney will win the states McCain carried in 2008, plus: Florida, Indiana, Virginia, North Carolina, Colorado, Iowa, Ohio, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Minnesota. In the popular vote, Romney will win by more than 5 points. The Obama campaign made the following key mistakes: • It bet the farm on negative ads in swing states. It didn’t realize that Mitt’s convention speech and the three debates would give him the chance...

Mitt Romney is ahead by a single percentage point in Ohio - the swing state that could well decide the election - according to internal polling data provided to MailOnline by a Republican party source. Internal campaign polling completed on Sunday night by campaign pollster Neil Newhouse has Romney three points up in New Hampshire, two points up in Iowa and dead level in Wisconsin. Most startlingly, the figures show Romney and Obama deadlocked in Pennsylvania. If the Romney campaign's internal numbers are correct - and nearly all independent pollsters have come up with a picture much more favourable for...