Louisiana has transitioned to a Republican state, but GOP Sen. David Vitter will test the political gravity of the Pelican State in next month’s gubernatorial runoff. Vitter was regarded as the front-runner to replace presidential candidate/current Gov. Bobby Jindal for much of the cycle, but the senator’s consistently poor performance in the polls and his […]
House Democrats don’t need to find themselves a cheerleader. They already have Nancy Pelosi. “I think the Democrats could have the gavel in 18 months,” she told Texas Tribune reporter/Roll Call alum Abby Livingston recently. “Here’s the thing: I’m always optimistic. You have to be.” “Even some pollsters are saying to us, ‘I see a […]
I never expected Kentucky GOP Sen. Rand Paul would win his party’s nomination for president, but I did expect he would be a factor in the race. So far, he hasn’t been one. (See my February column on his foreign policy challenges here.) While Paul’s father never was a serious contender for the Republican nomination […]
Speaker John Boehner plans to leave Congress at the end of October, but Republican infighting threatens to keep him around longer, particularly if Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan declines a run to replace him. According to a source with knowledge of his remarks, Boehner told the House Republican conference on Oct. 9, the final day before […]
I no longer underestimate Paul D. Ryan. I first met the Wisconsin Republican when he came in for an interview on Nov. 19, 1997. Then 27, he most recently had been a Capitol Hill staffer for conservative Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback. Ryan was making his first run for office in a politically competitive district in […]
It is increasingly apparent the GOP needs to nominate Texas Sen. Ted Cruz for president next year. The party’s difficulty in finding a broadly acceptable candidate for speaker, combined with the success of anti-establishment candidates in the presidential race, should make it clear to all that the fissure in the Republican Party is becoming wider […]