It happened to Bob Bennett in Utah and it could certainly happen to the multi-term, just turned Dem Senator from Pennsylvania. Because, apparently, the White House is backing away from Arlen… If this is true, it’s significant: CBS chief Washington correspondent Bob Schieffer is now saying that he has it on good authority that the [...]

California Court of Appeals says no to Proposition 14 opponents, which is good news for independent voters. From CAIVN: “The Court rejected the CSEA language, preserved the lower court’s language, and ordered the restoration of the Legislative Analyst’s prediction of cost savings associated with the measure.” And open primaries gaining support in Pennsylvania and Illinois. [...]

Kind of: U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak, trying to knock off a veteran Democratic incumbent senator in the primary, will get an endorsement Monday from somebody who succeeded in doing just that: Connecticut’s Ned Lamont. Lamont defeated Sen. Joseph Lieberman in the 2006 Democratic primary, largely by running against the Iraq war and Lieberman’s support of [...]

INDEPENDENT VOTERS If you want to call it “fickle” to leave the two-party system behind in favor creating a new political culture, call me fickle! 2010: Fight for fickle kids (By: Eamon Javers, Politico) Stanford University political science professor Morris Fiorina is convinced that both political parties haven’t yet grasped the scale of the change [...]

I suppose it’s never too early to start talking about races in 2010, and this race presents many Dems with a problem. Support the moderate (yet aging) Specter because he switched parties, or back a young up and comer? Regardless, it’s becoming obvious that Sestak will run in the Democratic primary… Sestak has interviewed a [...]

Republicans can call Arlen Specter an opportunist all they like and maybe they’re right. But the fact remains, the senator’s party jump is the direct result of the Republican’s increasing intolerance of moderates within their party. I understand that Specter is not a model Republican and that a primary challenge is often the price a [...]

This is pretty big news. Reports out of Washington indicate Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter will switch parties moving from a Republican to a Democrat. The announcement is expected today or tomorrow. Republicans in Pennsylvania have been planning to mount a primary challenge against Specter because the senator is viewed by party operatives as too liberal. [...]

Actually, I’m not laughing at this…just giving Matthews some grief for that signature, guttural laugh of his. From FiveThirtyEight… Chris Matthews, it appears, is in. FiveThirtyEight has been hearing for some time that Matthews is serious about running for the United States Senate, but it took a trip to Georgia among the Georgia-runoff-congregated and well-connected [...]

MSNBC just called it. McCain’s dream is over folks. 21 electoral votes to Barack.

Danielle, here! I’m back in Philly, my home away from home, sitting in a swanky hotel lobby, facing a wall, like a crazy person, in order to borrow wireless. And I’ve just published a piece for ANP. Here’s the scoop… Today, registered voters in Philly found their names missing from local poll books, which are [...]

As every indicator points to a Barack Obama win tomorrow, let’s pause to consider if there’s any reasonable scenario that could lead to a John McCain electoral college win, even if he loses the popular vote. Unless the state-by-state polls are grossly inaccurate, McCain’s chances are not great — but he does have one potential [...]

You knew it had to happen. But what’s surprising is this was created and is being funded by the Republican Party of Pennsylvania. In fact, their user account on YouTube only has two videos in it, with this being one of them. Will McCain denounce this tactic? We shall see…

And actually, just to give you a preview of my election night prediction…this is pretty close to what I’m thinking. First, the Obama leads… Florida: Obama +2 Obama: 47% McCain: 45% Virginia: Obama +3 Obama: 47% McCain: 44% Pennsylvania: Obama +4 Obama: 47% McCain: 43% Nevada: Obama +4 Obama: 47% McCain: 43% Colorado Obama +5 [...]

The poll of polls reveals Obama holding steady. Colorado… CNN’s new Colorado Poll of Polls shows Obama leading McCain by 6 points 51% to 45%; The last Colorado Poll of Polls –- released Saturday –- showed Obama leading McCain by 7 points. Florida… An average of polls conducted in battleground Florida, shows Obama leading McCain [...]

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

A bit of a surprise today, especially with the Pennsylvania and Minnesota numbers. Because I think this is one of the first polls I’ve seen that suggests those races are even close. Pennsylvania: Obama +4 Obama: 47% McCain: 43% Minnesota: Obama + 8 Obama: 48% McCain: 40% Arizona: McCain +4 McCain: 48% Obama: 44% Frankly, [...]

Quinnipiac thinks it’s too little too late for McCain in Ohio and Pennsylvania, but thinks he could pull it off in Florida. I still don’t think Obama can pull Ohio off, but I’m willing to be wrong. :-) The numbers and cross tabs… Florida: Obama +2 Obama: 47% McCain: 45% (Obama was ahead by 5) [...]

Good signs on the state level (.pdf), even if Obama’s numbers are slipping a bit nationally in the past couple days. Colorado: Obama +9 Obama: 50% McCain: 41% Florida: Obama + 2 Obama: 45% McCain: 43% Nevada: Obama +12 Obama: 52% McCain: 40% New Hampshire: Obama +18 Obama: 55% McCain: 37% North Carolina: Obama +2 [...]

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 offer [...]

Some good news for McCain today, but considering he has pulled out of Colorado in favor of Pennsylvania, this poll also surfaces some cold, hard truths about his chances to win. Ohio: McCain +3 McCain 48% Obama 45% Florida: McCain +2 McCain 48% Obama 46% Pennsylvania: Obama +7 Obama 50% McCain 43% While Obama has [...]