Free Republic

After former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson acknowledged in mid-March that he was considering a run for the Republican presidential nomination, supporters of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney were quietly acknowledging the obvious: Their candidate was political roadkill if Thompson entered the contest anytime soon. But things look very different now. Thompson's decision to delay his entry into the contest until this week not only damaged his own prospects but, more importantly, breathed life into a Romney candidacy that easily could have been snuffed out before it had begun. Initially, coming from the right side of the ideological spectrum, Thompson appeared...

More than a few journalists and political pontificators have noted recent Democratic gains in the Mountain West, which includes Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico. Some see those gains in 2004 and 2006 as shattering a reliable Republican region, while others argue recent wins are only the beginning of a Democratic rally that will continue in 2008 and beyond. After one of the best newspapers on the planet screamed “West Is Going Democrats’ Direction” and “Political Shift in Mountain States” in headlines, I figured I’d look at the numbers myself to see how much of an...

See the rest of the issues here... Stuart Rothenberg is the well respected editor and publisher of The Rothenberg Report. Known for their prolific output of political information, they have published a rich set of data on their blog about the upcoming election. Having a penchant for organizing info I thought I would repurpose their rundown of state ballot amendments and issues into a mind map. CLick here for details

by Mark Finkelstein April 12, 2006 On a light news day, why not run a generic piece on President Bush's low poll numbers and his assertedly bleak prospects for reviving them? That was apparently the thinking at the Today show this morning. Today themed the segment "Can Bush Save Presidency?", and NBC White House reporter Kelly O'Donnell seemed to answer the question in the negative, kicking things off with this gloomy assessment: "For President Bush, low poll numbers have not just been a dip or temporary rough patch but appear now to be a sustained pattern that is different than...

Guest contributor Stuart Rothenberg, editor of the Rothenberg Political Report, sees good things for House Democrats in the months ahead. With a little over nine months to go until Election Day, Democrats are headed for gains in the United States House of Representatives. The only question is exactly how big those gains will be. Democrats need a net gain of fifteen seats to get to the magic number of 218 seats and control of the chamber. That would make Representative Nancy Pelosi Speaker, install Democrats as chairs of House committees, and fundamentally change the political environment on Capitol Hill and...

WOODRUFF: As we've seen in our coverage all this week, online blogs are receiving a lot of attention. And some say their influence is overstated. With me now again, Howard Kurtz of CNN's "RELIABLE SOURCES," and political analyst Stu Rothenberg, of "Roll Call" and the "Rothenberg Political Report." Stu, let me start with you. We just heard Howard's report giving us a look at who some of the bloggers are. But you're a long-time political observers, analyst. What do you make of the blogs? STU ROTHENBERG, "ROTHENBERG POLITICAL REPORT": Well, I think blogging is simply another vehicle for people getting...

Test Time for Governors The next two years are a mega-cycle for governors, with 38 states hosting a race. In 2002, 23 Republicans and Democrats won election to their first term, putting the spotlight on these incumbents as they seek reelection after four years of governing. Four other governors (who have succeeded to the office or been elected since 2002) will face voters in 2006 as well. The Government Performance Project (GPP) and Governing magazine recently released their report card, giving a overall letter grade to each state by taking into account its Money (the state's financial situation), People (state...

<p>WOODRUFF: The race for the White House is dominated headlines in recent weeks, but there are also some very tight Senate races on the ballot this November.</p> <p>Stu Rothenberg of the "Rothenberg Political Report" is with me now to talk about some of the more intriguing ones.</p>

It’s increasingly clear that the campaign finance system is both messy and confusing. And I’m willing to bet it’s even worse than you thought. As almost everyone knows, barring aggressive action by the Federal Election Commission, political groups operating under section 527 of the tax code are able to raise unlimited soft-dollar funds that can and will go to early television ads and extensive voter-mobilization efforts. In addition, in spite of the new restrictions of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, the FEC has ruled that American Indian tribes are allowed to use their treasuries to finance TV ads within the...

As we noted in August, few incumbents are likely to be defeated in next month's elections. So if the Democrats are going to retake the House, they'll need to score major open-seat gains. While they have more opportunities than the GOP, they don't appear likely to succeed. Here is where we stand only a couple of weeks before Election Day. The most likely partisan switches come first, but each race on this list is a potential turnover. 1. Michigan 10th. Democratic Rep. David Bonior's open seat will likely be won by Michigan Secretary of State Candice Miller (R). Macomb County...