Barack Obama lost Texas by eleven points. That’s why my state is always such an afterthought in presidential politics. We’re crimson red, right? Hold that thought.
Something interesting occurred in this election. While Obama improved on John Kerry’s overall state numbers by just six points, he won the counties where the state’s four largest cities are [...]

One of the things Democrats have done right since 2004 is to run candidates that can win. That might seem like an obvious step in reaching majority status but, for years, Democrats insisted on running lockstep liberals in parts of the country that aren’t liberal.
Now, after a concerted effort to expand their tent, Democrats have [...]

The final results aren’t in yet, but Georgia Republicans are apparently expecting a runoff in the Senate race there:
Georgia GOP Chairwoman Sue Everhart said Wednesday morning that she anticipated a runoff between Republican Saxby Chambliss and Democrat Jim Martin for the U.S. Senate seat in Georgia.
Neither candidate had 50 percent of the vote. Chambliss, the [...]

Well, Justin has called the election for Barack Obama. Now I will boldly declare that there is no way the Democrats will reach 60 Senate votes. I know, real “out there” call.
With McConnell winning Kentucky and Chambliss pulling ahead in Georgia, the Democrats look like they’ll stall at a maximum of 58 seats. That would [...]

Marshall Manson offers some timely advice to the supporters of whoever happens to lose the election today:
Challenging the legitimacy of an election is a serious thing to do. And with occasional exceptions, charges of fraud are almost always overblown and based on unreliable, anecdotal data.
Over the last few years, too many on both sides have [...]

Presidential Election
Electoral College:

Popular Vote:

Barack Obama — 52%
John McCain — 45%
Bob Barr —- 1% (first Libertarian Party candidate to receive over 1,000,000 popular votes)
Ralph Nader — 1%
Other candidates — 1 %

United States Senate:
56 Democrats
41 Republicans
2 Independents
Democrats will pick up Senate seats in Virginia, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Colorado, North Carolina, Alaska, and Oregon. The race in [...]

Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Dick Polman cautions Democrats not to mistake a big Barack Obama win for a sudden American appetite for liberal politics. Polman writes:
Stan Greenberg, a prominent Democratic pollster, suggested the other day that voters are interested in Obama “because of his steadiness,” and not because of his progressive agenda. That sounds about [...]

Philadelphia is shaping up to be a key city in a key battleground state in this election, but machine problems and long lines may plague the polling stations and voter disenfranchisement will be a serious risk. Unfortunately for voters, the people charged with running a smooth election in Philly seem surprisingly unconcerned. Philly’s veritable election czar, Marge Tartaglione (D), in particular, shocked ANP with her comments at a recent hearing. See more videos at http://americannewsproject.com

Pete Abel lands the exclusive and discusses the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act Of 2008.
The following passage highlights one of the most important parts of the legislation because it shows how genuine policy compromise got this passed…
TMV: As I understand it, the current bill is not a mandate [...]

How have Democrats retaken the House of Representatives from Republicans and why are they positioned to gain even more seats next Tuesday? Because they’ve run candidates who can compete against Republicans. And that means the House is filling up with conservative Democrats know as Blue Dogs.
As The AP reports:
Majority Democrats are positioned for big gains [...]

In the Daily News, centrist Democrat Bob Kerrey explains how Barack Obama, if elected, can succeed.
The key passage:
By my lights, the primary threat to the success of a President Obama will come from some Democrats who, emboldened by the size of their congressional majority, may try to kill trade agreements, raise taxes in ways [...]

If you want to know why things are so bad for the GOP this year, look no further than the Granite State:
CONCORD, N.H. — Any other year, it might have been a defining moment. At a debate for New Hampshire’s U.S. Senate race held in a small town near here last week, a moderator relayed [...]

As Barack Obama continues to attract throngs of supporters and polls keep indicating he will win by a more than comfortable margin, I find myself wondering how much of the Obama phenomenon is simply a massive rejection of President Bush and how much is an honest-to-God shift in our political culture.
On one hand, the Obama [...]

With the Democratic turnout predicted to be extremely high this election, there is now serious talk of a 60-seat Democratic Senate majority propelled by Democratic turnout in red states. Is this filibuster-proof Democratic majority a real possibility? Let’s look.
Currently, the Democrats control 49 Senate seats with the independents Bernie Sanders (VT) and Joe Lieberman (CT) [...]

Hi, this is Danielle Ivory at the American News Project in DC. Thanks to Justin Gardner for allowing us to post story items here! We’ll start doing this regularly next week.
Just by way of introduction, the ANP is an independent non-profit video news organization in DC. We produce pieces for the web, but [...]

Looks like the race is tightening up in Pennsylvania’s 12th district.
From Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:
Democratic Rep. John Murtha leads retired Army Lt. Col. William Russell by a little more than 4 percentage points, within the Susquehanna Poll’s 4.9-point margin of error. The poll of 400 likely voters was conducted for the Tribune-Review on Tuesday, amid uproar over [...]

They’re claiming the potential vote fraud, but I’m honestly surprised at how flimsy their reasoning is.
Because their entire case seems to be built on the idea that they can convince a judge that just because somebody voted early, that they can then vote again.
From Chesterton Tribune:
CROWN POINT, Ind. (AP) — A judge weighing whether [...]

TIME has the numbers.
In Nevada and North Carolina it favors Obama…
Cumulative early-vote totals in the Las Vegas area show ballots were cast by 31,875 Democrats and 13,371 Republicans through midday Monday. Republicans had the advantage in absentee balloting, 6,616 to 6,161 through noon Monday.
In the Reno area, a similar pattern occurred twice as many Democrats [...]

Remember those Hillary supporters who claimed they’d never support Obama?
Well, now Obama’s support among his base is stronger than McCain’s. That doesn’t mean Dems aren’t voting for McCain, but the numbers are falling much more in line with traditional base models.
FiveThirtyEight has the numbers:

DEMS/GOP - Pollster
86/87 - Rasmussen
88/83 - IBD-TIPP
87/89 - Research 2000
91/84 - ABC/Post
87/84 [...]

Will he be “at war” with his base or “at war” with the nation?
If he wants to be a two termer, he’ll be at war with his base.
What do you think?