California’s 50th district special election. The death of terrorist leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in Iraq. The foiling of a major terrorist plot in Canada. A cooling of tensions over Iran. The unemployment rate down to 4.6 percent. After a 17-month string of virtually unbroken bad news, Republicans suddenly find themselves confronting something they could not […]
Republicans held the levees in San Diego County, but nationally the storm is far from over. Former Congressman Brian Bilbray’s victory in Tuesday’s special election was a costly but necessary victory for a Republican Party searching for any sliver of good news. And conversely, Democrat Francine Busby’s loss showed that a Democratic wave and new […]
That sigh you heard Wednesday morning coming from national Democrats wasn’t the roar of approval and satisfaction that they hoped for. The results are in from California, and the news was surprisingly good for Republicans. Former and future Rep. Brian Bilbray drew just under 50 percent of the vote in the special election in the […]
The recent marriage of two former political foes may already be over. Or at least the relationship got a bit more complicated with Wednesday’s Senate vote on the Marriage Protection Amendment. Arizona Sen. John McCain (R) received plenty of attention when he accepted the Rev. Jerry Falwell’s invitation and spoke at Liberty University’s commencement ceremonies […]
[Editor's Note: This column was originally published on Monday, before the election.] Campaign strategists in both parties are holding their breath as the special election in California’s 50th district comes down to the wire. Neither party is expressing confidence in a race that increasingly looks like a test of Democratic efforts to ride a wave […]
Two major announcements out of Alaska regarding the gubernatorial race, and both of them help the Democrats’ prospects in November. First, Gov. Frank Murkowski (R) announced he would seek reelection to a second term. And second, former Gov. Tony Knowles (D) announced he would seek his third term. Murkowski is one of the most unpopular […]
The new June 2, 2006 print edition of the Rothenberg Political Report is on its way to subscribers. (Click here for subscription information.) Senate Overview – The Lay of the Land Democrats need a net gain of six seats to get to 51 seats in the next Senate, a daunting task since only 15 Republican […]
Whatever you think of the constitutional issues surrounding the FBI raid on the Capitol Hill office of embattled Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.), there is little doubt that, politically, Republicans are blowing another opportunity. To most Americans, Jefferson appears to have taken a bribe. Prosecutors say they have it on videotape. Obviously, until the Congressman is […]
While there is plenty of evidence that voters are dissatisfied with the president, Congress and the direction of the nation, I am finally seeing a significant amount of evidence at the local level — in polling data and in recent primary election results — that the national mood is having an impact on incumbents. The […]
National and district-level numbers continue to raise red flags for Republicans around the country. In past cycles, the question was whether Democrats could nationalize races and pick off enough Republican seats to get to 218 seats — and a majority. Now, the environment has already been nationalized and the question is whether Republicans can localize […]