Archive for 2010
Red States Hold Primaries More than Five Weeks Earlier on Average than Blue States: Which Party Benefits?
Average ‘red state’ primary date is June 15th, while average ‘blue state’ date is July 23rd. ‘Purple state’ average date is July 11th
Read MoreWhy Minnesota Democrats Should Be Thankful Tim Pawlenty Is Not Running for Reelection
Republican gubernatorial incumbents in Minnesota have won 93 percent of reelection defenses since statehood (25 of 27), while losing 70 percent of open seat contests over the past century
Read MoreMinnesota GOP Caucus Gubernatorial Straw Poll Voter Turnout Up Over 20 Percent from 2002
Despite the characterization that caucus night was a quiet night for Republicans in some media reports, GOP turnout nonetheless increased by more than 20 percent since the last time the party was searching for its gubernatorial nominee back in 2002
Read MoreTo the ‘Losers’ of the 2010 Minnesota Gubernatorial Straw Polls…
Tim Pawlenty, finished in 2nd place out of 3 candidates in the 2002 Republican gubernatorial straw poll
Read MoreWhat’s In a Name? Could Scrabble Scores Determine Minnesota’s Next Governor?
Gubernatorial candidates with longer names and names with letters totaling higher Scrabble tile values are nearly twice as likely to win general election races throughout Minnesota history
Read MoreIs Barack Obama Avoiding the Press?
Obama press conferences front-loaded during ‘honeymoon period’ of 1st term; President has held fourth fewest solo press conferences during 1st year of office since Herbert Hoover
Read More‘Professor’ Obama? President’s State of the Union Address Notches 4th Lowest Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level Score Since FDR
Text of Obama’s Address has a readability score for an average 8th grader – two grades lower than George W. Bush’s Addresses and the historical average for modern presidents
Read MoreA Content Analysis of President Obama’s 2010 State of the Union Address
Emphasis on domestic policy and insertion of non-policy rhetoric stands in sharp contrast to George W. Bush’s final State of the Union Address in 2008
Read MoreMike Parry Fends Off Critics, Engbrecht, and Srp to Hold 26th Senate District for GOP
Tri-County District split support among the three candidates; Roy Srp turns in best State Senate performance for IP since 2002
Read MoreGOP Has Historically Thrived in Minnesota State Senate Special Elections
Despite recent losses, Republican Party has notched a substantially better record in State Senate special elections than the DFL
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