Posts by Dr. Eric Ostermeier
MN U.S. Senate Elections Historically Uncompetitive in Presidential Election Years
A Smart Politics study of the 22 U.S. Senate races held in the Gopher State since the union of the Democratic and Farmer-Labor parties in 1944 finds Senate contests held during presidential election years to be less competitive than those…
Read MoreWhy Isn’t Dean Barkley Derailing Al Franken’s Candidacy?
The first two polls released since Dean Barkley won the Independence Party primary last week still show a very close race between Norm Coleman and Al Franken, with Barkley receiving 13 percent (Minnesota Poll) and 14 percent (SurveyUSA) support among…
Read MoreMcCain in 2008 Well Ahead of Bush’s 2004 Pace in Minnesota
The new Star Tribune Minnesota Poll of the presidential race finds John McCain performing markedly better than George W. Bush did in the Gopher State in nearly identical surveys conducted four years apart. In the new Strib survey, conducted September…
Read MoreMcCain Makes Big Gains in South Dakota
Continuing the bounce polls indicate he is experiencing in most states West of the Mississippi, John McCain now holds a 17-point advantage in South Dakota, 54 to 37 percent, according to a September 9th Rasmussen poll of 500 likely voters….
Read MoreWhy Don’t Democrats Nominate Westerners?
The “Sarah Palin effect” has been felt, at least for the moment, across national and state polls. John McCain’s numbers are looking particularly strong in Western states, the region from which he and Palin hail. For example, in polls conduct…
Read MoreWhy Don’t Democrats Nominate Westerners?
The “Sarah Palin effect” has been felt, at least for the moment, across national and state polls. John McCain’s numbers are looking particularly strong in Western states, the region from which he and Palin hail. For example, in polls conduct…
Read MoreLibertarian Ballot Option On the Rise in Wisconsin
Whether it is because the Libertarian Party has a well-known nominee in the Presidential race in Bob Barr (though not necessarily well-regarded in Libertarian leadership circles), whether it is because the Libertarian base has been fired up due to…
Read MoreMcCain / Palin Bounce Boosting Republicans Down the Ballot
Whether it is the recency effect of the Republican National Convention, the personal narrative of the second half of John McCain’s acceptance speech, or, as suspected by Smart Politics, the selection of Sarah Palin to be McCain’s running mate, the…
Read MoreWhat Will We Learn From the Minnesota U.S. Senate Primaries?
As several polls show a tight race between Norm Coleman and Al Franken heading into the Minnesota U.S. Senate primary, the campaigns – and the media – will be looking for clues as to which candidate is in the stronger…
Read MoreEight Debate Questions Sarah Palin Does Not Want Asked of Her
Democrats and Barack Obama supporters made the grave mistake of attacking the experience (and competence) of GOP Vice-Presidential nominee Sarah Palin too soon out of the gate last week. Beginning just a few days after McCain’s announcement that Palin…
Read More