Americans Elect: Americans Elect has officially given up seeking a third party presidential candidate. No candidate met the threshold in the group's online nominating system. In a statement, Americans Elect says the rules developed are clear and "the primary process for the Americans Elect nomination has come to an end."
Romney: Mitt Romney and the RNC raised $40.1 million in April, the campaign announced Thursday. President Obama and the DNC had announced a $43.6 million dollar haul a day before. The figure is a big improvement over Romney's $12.5 million total for March.
More Romney: Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney is airing his first general election ads in a couple days, a positive biographical spot introducing himself to voters. The ad will run in Iowa, North Carolina, Virginia and Ohio.
Super PACs: A super PAC led by TD Ameritrade founder Joe Ricketts has rejected a proposal that would link President Obama to his former pastor Jeremiah Wright, a line of attack that the GOP rejected in 2008 and one which presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney repudiated today. The $10 million plan, outlined in a 54 page strategy document, would include television and newspaper ads as well as outdoor advertisements and aerial banners.
Senate
Nebraska: State Sen. Deb Fischer starts with an 18 percentage point lead in her race against former Sen. Bob Kerrey, according to a just completed Rasmussen Reports poll. Fischer receives 56% support to 38% for Kerrey, with 3% undecided.
North Dakota: The first independent poll of the North Dakota Senate race shows Rep. Rick Berg at 51% versus former state Attorney General Heidi Heitkamp at 44%. Before today, the only poll results publicly released in the Senate race came from state and national Democrats, who claimed as recently as late April that Heitkamp led Berg by several percentage points.
House
AZ-6: Rep. David Schweikert received the endorsement of FreedomWorks in his race against Rep. Ben Quayle, following previous endorsements by Citizens United and the Club for Growth, as well as Sen. Pat Toomey. Quayle is thought to have the backing of much of the GOP leadership in the House.
AZ-8: Both parties are using the special election to replace Rep. Gabrielle Giffords to test their messages for the Fall. The NRCC has dumped hundreds of thousands of dollars into television spots that criticize Barber on health care reform and Medicare cuts while using shots of Obama and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. The Democrats, meanwhile, are going after Kelly on Medicare and Social Security, suggesting he would support House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan's budget plan.
CA-24: Lt. Gov. Abel Maldonado launched his first TV ad, a $200,000 buy that will run for three weeks. As the only Democrat, Rep. Lois Capps is assured of advancing beyond the June 5 all party primary, while Maldonado and actor Chris Mitchum compete for the second spot.
CO-6: Rep. Mike Coffman is coming under attack for some comments made about President Obama'a citizenship. "I don't know whether Barack Obama was born in the United States of America. I don't know that," Coffman said. "But I do know this, that in his heart, he's not an American. He's just not an American." Coffman has issued a written apology and said he misspoke.
KY-4: A preview of next Tuesday's Republican primary in Kentucky's 4th District. The local Republican establishment has split its support between state Rep. Alecia Webb-Edgington and Boone County Judge-Executive Gary Moore. Several outside tea party affiliated groups, and Sen. Rand Paul, are backing Lewis County Judge-Executive Thomas Massie.
MI-14: Rep. Gary Peters has been endorsed by a host of Detroit community leaders, including Mayor Dave Bing, in his member versus member race against Rep. Hansen Clarke.
New Hampshire: PPP finds both New Hampshire House races are close. In the 1st Congressional District, Carol Shea-Porter leads Republican incumbent Frank Guinta 47-43 in a rematch of their 2010 contest. Guinta's become increasingly unpopular as his first term has progressed, going from a 39/38 approval rating last July to a 36/44 one now. In the 2nd Congressional District, Charlie Bass and Ann McLane Kuster are tied at 42%. On the previous survey Bass had a 43-42 advantage.
North Dakota: The Club for Growth has endorsed Public Service Commissioner Kevin Cramer, just one day after FreedomWorks announced their support for his bid. The North Dakota Republican Party support Public Service Commissioner Brian Kalk, who received the party's official endorsement at the state convention earlier this year. Cramer decided to run outside the convention system and challenge Kalk in the June 12 primary.
NRCC: The National Republican Congressional Committee announced that eight GOP House candidates reached Contender status, one step from earning top tier Young Guns status. The candidates are: Kim Vann CA-3, John Tavaglione CA-41, Joe Coors CO-7, Ben Lange IA-1, John Archer IA-2, Dan Dolan IA-2, David Rouzer NC-7, and Maggie Brooks NY-25.
SC-7: Former Lt. Governor Andre Bauer and Horry County Council Chair Tom Rice lead in the race for the Republican nomination for the new 7th Congressional District seat according to a new poll commissioned by Francis Marion University and SCNOW.com. Bauer leads the nine person field of Republican candidates with 22 percent of voters polled, followed by Rice with 21 percent. Chad Prosser is third with 8 percent. 35 percent of those polled said they were still undecided.
Redistricting
New York: A Judge has denied a Democratic attempt for an injuction against the Republican drawn State Senate map. Elections for the State Senate and State Assembly will go forward under the recently passed lines.
Romney: Mitt Romney and the RNC raised $40.1 million in April, the campaign announced Thursday. President Obama and the DNC had announced a $43.6 million dollar haul a day before. The figure is a big improvement over Romney's $12.5 million total for March.
Super PACs: A super PAC led by TD Ameritrade founder Joe Ricketts has rejected a proposal that would link President Obama to his former pastor Jeremiah Wright, a line of attack that the GOP rejected in 2008 and one which presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney repudiated today. The $10 million plan, outlined in a 54 page strategy document, would include television and newspaper ads as well as outdoor advertisements and aerial banners.
AZ-6: Rep. David Schweikert received the endorsement of FreedomWorks in his race against Rep. Ben Quayle, following previous endorsements by Citizens United and the Club for Growth, as well as Sen. Pat Toomey. Quayle is thought to have the backing of much of the GOP leadership in the House.
CO-6: Rep. Mike Coffman is coming under attack for some comments made about President Obama'a citizenship. "I don't know whether Barack Obama was born in the United States of America. I don't know that," Coffman said. "But I do know this, that in his heart, he's not an American. He's just not an American." Coffman has issued a written apology and said he misspoke.
SC-7: Former Lt. Governor Andre Bauer and Horry County Council Chair Tom Rice lead in the race for the Republican nomination for the new 7th Congressional District seat according to a new poll commissioned by Francis Marion University and SCNOW.com. Bauer leads the nine person field of Republican candidates with 22 percent of voters polled, followed by Rice with 21 percent. Chad Prosser is third with 8 percent. 35 percent of those polled said they were still undecided.
With all but Kansas done redistricting, it is time to start our congressional rankings. The three tabels are as follows: 1) the existing competitive seats, 2) the new seats, and 3) the seats eliminated. If a race is not listed, it is considered safe.
Crossroads GPS: Crossroads GPS is out with a new 60 second spot that runs through a litany of Obama's "broken promises" on taxes, healthcare, and the deficit. The $8 million ad buy will be spread over 10 battleground states.
More Crossroads: Crossroads announced that the above $8 million ad buy was part of a larger $25 million TV ad campaign over the next month being run in 10 battleground states.
National Polls: A new Fox News poll finds President Obama 7 points ahead of Mitt Romney, 46% to 39%. Three weeks ago the candidates were tied at 46 percent each.
Nevada: In response to the recent takeover of the Nevada GOP by Ron Paul forces, the Republican National Committee and the Mitt Romney campaign have decided to erect a shadow state party. "They are still bogged down in the minutiae of whether Romney will be the presumptive nominee," said a GOP strategist familiar with the details of the restructuring. "We don't have time for that when the Obama campaign already is in full campaign mode. We have no use for them (the state GOP)."
North Carolina: President Obama leads Mitt Romney 48% to 47% in the latest PPP poll of North Carolina. The poll shows some improvements for Romney. Since clinching the Republican nomination, Romney's seen a 13 point improvement in his net favorability, from a 29 to 16 point deficit. Republicans have moved from supporting Romney by an 84-7 margin to a 90-5 one in the last month.
Obama: President Obama and the Democrats raised $43.6 million in April. The $43.6 million is a dip from March, when Obama's campaign and the Democratic National Committee raised a combined $53 million. It does not include several large fundraisers, including one in Hollywood that reportedly raised $15 million, that took place in early May.
Pennsylvania: Is Pennsylvania up for grabs in November? Stuart Rothenberg has some conflicting thoughts.
Senate
Florida: Rep. Connie Mack IV has received the endorsement of Mitt Romney in his race for US Senate. Mack, who strongly supported Romney in the Florida GOP presidential primary, faces former Sen. George LeMieux in the GOP Senate primary, which will take place Aug. 14.
Montana: Looking ahead to the 2014 Montana Senate race, PPP shows if Gov. Brian Schweitzer wanted to run for the Senate he would start out ahead in a hypothetical primary contest with Max Baucus, 48-37. Baucus has seen some improvement in his approval numbers over the last five months, 42%
of voters approve of him to 46% who disapprove.
Nebraska: A good article on the aftermath of the Nebraska Republican Senate primary. While Republicans have an unexpected and unknown nominee, they remain the heavy favorites to claim this seat in the Fall.
New Jersey: Sen. Bob Menendez leads his Republican challenger, state Sen. Joseph Kyrillos, by ten points but remains under 50 percent, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll. Menendez leads Kyrillos 45 percent to 35 percent in the survey. A Quinnipiac poll conducted last month showed Menendez leading Kyrillos 44 percent to 35 percent.
House
Kucinich: Rep. Dennis Kucinich will not seek a House seat in Washington State or anywhere this year after losing a primary to Marcy Kaptur in March. In an email to his supporters, Kucinich thanked the "tens of thousands of concerned Citizens for Kucinich who in the past few months have written, emailed and called to discuss my running for Congress in Washington State." "After careful consideration and discussions with Elizabeth and my closest friends, I have decided that, at this time, I can best serve from outside the Congress."
NM-1: Former President Bill Clinton has recorded robocalls in an effort to boost the campaign of Marty Chávez. Chávez faces state Sen. Eric Griego and Bernalillo County Commissioner Michelle Lujan Grisham in the June 5 primary.
NV-3: Rep. Joe Heck and his challenger, Assembly Speaker John Oceguera, have reserved more than $1.4 million combined in fall television airtime in Las Vegas. Heck campaign manager Dick Leggitt said they wanted to get their time reserved because of the expected clutter on the airwaves with multiple competitive races. Heck ended March with more than $1 million in cash on hand, more than twice as much as Oceguera.
RI-1: Rep. David Cicilline leads Democratic primary opponent Anthony Gemma 40% to 36%, with 20% undecided, according to a new WPRI 12 poll. Cicilline won a four way 2010 primary with 37% of the vote, ahead of Gemma with 23%, and David Segal and Bill Lynch with 20% each. If he makes it past the primary, Cicilline faces a competitive race against Republican Brendan Doherty, the Rhode Island State Police's former superintendent.
Governor
New Hampshire: According to a newly released PPP poll, the open New Hampshire Governor's race looks like a tossup. The two Democrats, Jackie Cilley and Maggie Hassan, are in a close race in the primary, and either one would start out tied with presumed GOP nominee Ovide Lamontagne. Hassan leads Cilley in the primary, 23-20, with 57% undecided. In the general, Cilley and Lamontagne are tied at 38% apiece, while Lamontagne edges Hassan, 40-39.
Wisconsin: A new Marquette Law School Poll shows Governor Scott Walker with a six percentage point lead over Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, 50-44 percent, among likely voters. This is a similar margin to yesterday's PPP poll of the race. Lt. Governor Rebecca Kleefisch holds a 47% to 41% lead over Professional Fire Fighters of Wisconsin president Mahlon Mitchell in that recall election, with 10 percent undecided. President Obama is tied with former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, 46% to 46%, among likely voters.
Other
Michigan State House: State Representative Roy Schmidt made a last minute switch to the Republican Party at the filing deadline. Schmidt was known as a moderate to conservative Democrat who previously served as a non partisan Grand Rapids city commissioner before being elected to the state House. He faces an unknown Democratic challenger in November.
Crossroads GPS: Crossroads GPS is out with a new 60 second spot that runs through a litany of Obama's "broken promises" on taxes, healthcare, and the deficit. The $8 million ad buy will be spread over 10 battleground states.
North Carolina: President Obama leads Mitt Romney 48% to 47% in the latest PPP poll of North Carolina. The poll shows some improvements for Romney. Since clinching the Republican nomination, Romney's seen a 13 point improvement in his net favorability, from a 29 to 16 point deficit. Republicans have moved from supporting Romney by an 84-7 margin to a 90-5 one in the last month.
Obama: President Obama and the Democrats raised $43.6 million in April. The $43.6 million is a dip from March, when Obama's campaign and the Democratic National Committee raised a combined $53 million. It does not include several large fundraisers, including one in Hollywood that reportedly raised $15 million, that took place in early May.
Wisconsin: A new Marquette Law School Poll shows Governor Scott Walker with a six percentage point lead over Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, 50-44 percent, among likely voters. This is a similar margin to yesterday's PPP poll of the race. Lt. Governor Rebecca Kleefisch holds a 47% to 41% lead over Professional Fire Fighters of Wisconsin president Mahlon Mitchell in that recall election, with 10 percent undecided. President Obama is tied with former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, 46% to 46%, among likely voters.
To complete are examination of the congressional races for May, we now move to the west in predicting the most competitive races in that region. For this exercise, the West is the Rocky Mountain states and the Pacific states.
1) What are the five most likely pickups for the Democrats?
2) What are the five most likely pickups for the Republicans?
3) What is a sleeper race for either party in this region?
Our congressional predictions will be coming out tomorrow.
George W. Bush: Former President George W. Bush has publicly endorsed Mitt Romney. "I'm for Mitt Romney," Bush said to a reporter as he stepped on to a elevator. Bush has been absent from the 2012 campaign and hasn't made any public comments showing his support for Romney. Romney got the formal backing of Bush's parents, President George H.W. Bush and Barbara Bush, in March.
National Poll: A new Public Policy Polling survey shows President Obama edging Mitt Romney nationally, 48% to 46%, with 6% undecided.
New Hampshire: President Obama leads Mitt Romney by 12 points in New Hampshire, according to a new PPP poll. Obama tops Romney now, 53-41, a 14 point reversal from Romney's 46-44 lead 10 months ago. With New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte on the ticket, that lead would fall but only to 52-42.
Senate
Connecticut: Rep. Christopher Murphy received the state party endorsement for Senate over the weekend through an overwhelming vote of state party delegates. Last week, he also picked up an endorsement from the National Organization for Women. Murphy still must face former Connecticut Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz, who is being backed by Emily's List, in the Aug. 14 primary.
Nebraska: State Sen. Deb Fischer won the Republican nomination to face former Sen. Bob Kerrey in a come from behind victory that seemed inconceivable just a few weeks ago. In the final week of the race, Fischer started gaining momentum and received a high profile endorsement from Sarah Palin, and then one from Rep. Jeff Fortenberry. A Super PAC supported her with an ad buy during the final weekend of the primary. Fischer becomes the favorite for the seat.
House
CA-3: NRCC Chairman Pete Sessions will headline two fundraisers next week for Colusa County supervisor Kim Vann for her race against Rep. John Garamendi. Garamendi is among the incumbents atop the NRCC's target list for California.
LA-3: Rep. Jeff Landry announced that he would challenge Rep. Charles Boustany in a matchup brought about by redistricting. The two were expected to wind up battling each other this cycle but Landry's announcement makes the race official. "There are some Republicans who claim they are conservative but vote like liberals," he said in his announcement. "The only way to fix that is to send real conservatives to Congress and not re-elect career politicians, and it is why I am announcing, right here tonight, right now, that I am running for re-election to the United States Congress."
MA-06: Richard Tisei leads Rep. John Tierney in a Republican poll conducted by John McLaughlin. Tisei took 40 percent to Tierney's 33 percent, with 27 percent undecided. The poll could provide a fundraising boost for Tisei, who has outraised Tierney in each of the past two quarters.
Michigan: Michigan's congressional filing deadline saw the Democrats fail to get a top challenger to Rep. Tim Walberg. Instead, Democrats will focus their efforts on a rerun race between freshman Rep. Dan Benishek and former state Rep. Gary McDowell in the state's Upper Peninsula.
MN-8: Minnesota's entire Democratic Congressional delegation are listed as hosts for an upcoming DC fundraiser for former Rep. Rick Nolan. Those set to attend Nolan's fundraiser included Democratic Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken, and Reps. Collin Peterson, Betty McCollum, Keith Ellison and Tim Walz. Also among the fundraiser's hosts were the former occupant of the seat, ex Rep. James Oberstar. Nolan recently won the DFL state party endorsement, but will face a competitive primary for the right to face Rep. Chip Cravaack in November.
Governor
Indiana: Rep. Mike Pence is out with his first ad in the Indiana gubernatorial race. It's a soft-focus spot in which Pence's wife talk about holding hands and ice-skating with the future congressman on their first date. The ad also highlights Pence's marriage, in contrast to his opponent, John Gregg, who is divorced.
North Carolina: PPP finds the North Carolina Governors race between Pat McCrory and Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton to be tightening. McCrory holds a 46-40 advantage over Dalton after leading 50-35 in the first poll conducted between them in late January.
Wisconsin: Gov. Scott Walker leads Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett 50% to 45% according to a new PPP poll. The poll also shows a tight race for President, with Barack Obama leading Mitt Romney by just 47% to 46%. In the Senate race, Democrat Tammy Baldwin is down 4 to 5 points against all three major Republican candidates.
Other
Club For Growth Freshman Scorecard: The Club For Growth released a scorecard of freshman Republican members of the House in which they criticized many of the GOP House freshmen for straying from the tea party ideals on which they campaigned. The report is based on the group's annual vote scorecard and showed Tea Party stars such as Rep. Allen West with a 64% rating.
10:30 PM: With the final votes reporting, Fischer leads 41 to 36% with an 8,000 vote margin. Don Stenberg ends up with 19% of the vote. In NE-2, Rep. Lee Terry will face Douglas County Treasurer John Ewing in a semi competitive race.
10:17 PM: And Fischer gets the check mark, who would have thought this two weeks ago.
10:15 PM: 78% reporting, and still 40-36 and a 6,000 vote lead for Fischer. Expect to see a check mark if Bruning doesn't close soon.
10:04 PM: 74% reporting, and Fischer's lead remains at 4% and over 5,000 votes. At this point Bruning's chances of a comeback are diminishing.
9:56 PM: Fischer is expanding her lead as more of NE-3 comes in. Now with 71% in statewide, she is up 40-36%.
9:54 PM: In a good sign for Fischer, NE-3 is showing the fewest number of precincts reporting, 53%.
9:52 PM: Up to 65% reporting, and still a narrow Fischer lead, 39-37.
9:43 PM: 59% reporting and Fischer still up 39-37.
9:35 PM: Another big Douglas vote dump and Lancaster County (Lincoln) extend Fischer's lead to 39-37.
9:31 PM: With 52% in, Fischer has taken a 38-38 lead. She leads by 762 votes
9:26 PM: In non-Senate news, Romney is winning the Presidential primary with 72%
9:23 PM: Put the coffee brewing folks we may have a long night ahead of us. With 41% in, the race has narrowed to a 38-37 Bruning lead, about 1,334 votes
9:15 PM: 33% in and it is continuing to get closer. Bruning is now up 39-36.
9:12 PM: With up to 30% in, we are seeing some narrowing, to a 40-34 Bruning lead
9:06 PM: 24% reporting, Bruning up 41-33
8:58 PM: A big vote dump in Douglas County has Bruning up to a 41-32 lead.
8:50 PM: Getting closer. With 14% in, Bruning is up 39-36
8:33 PM: Some of the rural counties are beginning to report, and Fischer is not doing as well as she needs to be doing. Maybe early votes, but, if not, Bruning looks good. Still early though
8:30 PM: Bob Kerrey won the Democratic Senate nomination with 84%
8:23 PM: Much of the votes in as of now are from Douglas County (Omaha) and neighboring Sarpy County. Fischer actually leads in Douglas, where Bruning needs to win big to win. Bruning leads statewide 40-35.
8:14 PM: According to the SoS, with 28 precincts, Bruning leads Fischer 40-34.
8:05 PM: Polls closed 5 minutes ago in Nebraska. Now, we wait.
Minnesota: A SurveyUSA poll in Minnesota shows President Obama with a comfortable lead over Mitt Romney, 52% to 38%.
Obama: President Obama's campaign is running a two minute television ad in "select battleground" states that targets Romney's career at Bain Capital. The spot is an attempt to portray Romney as an uncaring corporate titan who is concerned more with profits than with workers.
Paul: Ron Paul announced "he will no longer spend resources campaigning in primaries in states that have not voted," for all practical purposes suspending his presidential campaign. Paul, however, will continue his bid to collect delegates to the national convention in Tampa this summer. He has earned additional delegates in recent weeks by performing strongly at state conventions in states that have already voted.
Senate
Indiana: A poll conducted for the campaign of Democratic nominee Rep. Joe Donnelly shows a 40 percent to 40 percent tie against Richard Mourdock. Mourdock's favorability numbers seem to have suffered as a result of the primary against Sen. Dick Lugar. His favorable rating is 36 percent, while 37 percent view him unfavorably. Twenty two percent of Indiana voters say they have a strongly unfavorable view about Mourdock.
Missouri: Sen. Claire McCaskill leads all three of her potential Republican opponents by single digit margins but is under 50 percent in a new Democratic poll. McCaskill leads former Treasurer Sarah Steelman 45 percent to 36 percent, with 19 percent undecided, according to the survey conducted for the Democratic aligned outside group Majority PAC. McCaskill leads businessman John Brumner 46 percent to 38 percent with 16 percent undecided, and leads Rep. Todd Akin 44 percent to 39 percent, with 17 percent undecided.
Montana: Sen. John Tester's campaign is out with his 6th TV ad, part of a string of positive TV spots run in the state. The latest is a 60 second ad featuring the Democrat's wife, Sharla, and shots of Tester climbing into his tractor, reading to young students, sitting in a science lab with college students, speaking with veterans, sitting at a small table with senior citizens and walking with shotgun wielding hunters.
Nebraska: State Sen. Deb Fischer is getting some last minute help in her bid for US Senate. Joe Ricketts, who owns the Chicago Cubs with his family and is founder of TD Ameritrade, poured $200,000 into the race with a tough television advertisement that questioned Bruning's character and business deals, and another ad that praises Deb Fischer.
More Nebraska: A We Ask America automated poll finds Deb Fischer's late surge to be real. She now leads state Attorney General John Bruning 39% to 34% with state Treasurer Don Stenburg at 18%. We Ask America's poll of the race last week had Bruning ahead of Fischer by 16 percentage points, 42% to 26%.
North Dakota: Heidi Heitkamp is out with a new television ad thats set to run statewide highlighting her support for the state's energy industry. The former state attorney general has repeatedly sought to distance herself from President Obama on energy issues and has lashed out at President Obama for obstructing the development of the Keystone XL pipeline.
House
AR-4: Attorney Tom Cotton has pulled ahead in next weeks primary for Congress. A Talk Business- Hendrix College poll of likely voters has Cotton at 51% with 2010 nominee Beth Ann Rankin at 33% with 10% undecided.
NJ-9: Obama senior advisor David Axelrod is backing Rep. Steve Rothman in his member versus member race against Rep. Bill Pascrell. Bill Clinton endorsed Pascrell this month, making this race the seventh in which he has supported a Hillary endorsing candidate against an Obama backer.
WA-6: Timber executive Bill Driscoll announced for the Republican nomination for the open 6th District seat. Driscoll said he would immediately donate $500,000 to his campaign. State Sen. Derek Kilmer is the lone Democrat in the race, and the early favorite for the seat.
Governor
Arkansas: Rep. Mike Ross announced he would not run for Governor in 2014 and will instead work in the private sector. Last year, Ross had announced he would not seek reelection to Congress as he prepared for a potential gubernatorial run. Attorney General Dustin McDaniel is the Democrat now widely expected to run for the office.
Wisconsin: A new We Ask America poll in Wisconsin shows Gov. Scott Walker fending off a recall challenge from Tom Barrett, 52% to 43%.
Other
Iowa: For the first time in six years, Republicans outnumber Democrats among active voters in Iowa. The latest numbers show Republicans have a slight edge of roughly 9,000 voters over Democrats. Independents remain the largest group, they comprise 35.7% of active registered voters, compared to 32.4% for Republicans and 31.9% for Democrats.
New York SD-27: After a Judge ruled that over one hundred absentee ballots challenged by Democrat Lew Fidler be counted, Republican David Storobin has moved into a 24 vote lead in the special election for state Senate. The result is final pending an automatic hand recount as required by New York State law.
Elections have consequences -- from the race for President to the race for one seat on a city council. The political economist Max Weber wrote that the state possesses a monopoly on the legitimate use of force. But in the United States, the state is divided into myriad federal, state, and local entities. And the elections to fill those entities are the products of the fascinating interactions between campaigns, party affiliations, voter turnout, and the media spotlight. Red Racing Horses analyzes those elections -- from a Republican-leaning perspective -- to keep a close eye on the process of electing officials, and to offer our perspective on the election-related issues of the day. Thank you for visiting, and we hope you'll enjoy the blog.
