Governorships
Pawlenty Approval Rating Stable Through Good Times and Bad
Even though Minnesota is experiencing unprecedented month-to-month increases in unemployment and a $5 billion budget deficit, Governor Tim Pawlenty’s political stock has not (yet) been devalued in the Gopher State. A Smart Politics analysis of more than 5-dozen public opinion…
Read MorePawlenty Invokes Obama and Displays Fancy Footwork On Tax Policy in Budget Presentation
Governor Tim Pawlenty’s discussion on the role tax policy should play in the upcoming budget battle during Tuesday afternoon’s budget presentation was a near masterful display of how combining the bob and weave with an occasional jab can make…
Read MoreA Content Analysis of Governor Pawlenty’s 2008 and 2009 State of the State Addresses
Governor Tim Pawlenty’s State of the State Address on Thursday afternoon saw a significant change in the policy issues he raised from his previous address on February 13, 2008. These changes largely reflected the harsh economic reality that has beset…
Read MoreThe Bill Stops Here: Governor Pawlenty’s Veto Pen
Governor Tim Pawlenty’s veto on February 22nd of a controversial transportation bill has set the stage for the DFL-controlled legislature to attempt an override. Governor Pawlenty has deployed the veto more often (37 times since 2003) than all but 2…
Read MoreJim Doyle Approval Rating Continues to Tumble
A majority of Wisconsin residents (52 percent) now disapprove of Democratic Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle’s job performance, according to a new poll released this week by SurveyUSA. For only the second time in 26 consecutive monthly polls of 600…
Read MorePawlenty Wins Minor Battle in Fight Against Illegal Immigration
The DFL dropped provisions from a higher education bill—passed by the House and Senate—that would have allowed children of illegal immigrants in Minnesota to qualify for in-state tuition. The inclusion of the so-called “DREAM Act” would assuredly have been…
Read MoreGubernatorial Incumbents Sail
Last November, Democrats picked up 6 governorships, held all 13 seats with Democratic incumbents, and retained their one (and only) open seat. But the lesson from Election 2006 is not so much a story of democratic dominance in the fight…
Read MoreIncumbency Advantage in Gubernatorial Elections
It was not much of a surprise when all three incumbent governors from the Upper Midwest (Tim Pawlenty, Mike Rounds, and Jim Doyle) won their respective re-election bids last November (at least not to Smart Politics, who projected as such)….
Read MoreAddresses by Upper Midwest Governors Remarkably Similar
Three gubernatorial addresses conducted this month across the Upper Midwest have been remarkably similar with regards to the main issues raised in the speeches. Republican Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty’s State of the State address delivered last week focused on four…
Read MoreA Tale of (Two?) States: Demographic Support for Republican Gubernatorial Candidates in MN and WI Strikingly Similar
The 2006 gubernatorial races in Minnesota and Wisconsin had key similarities: 1-term incumbents defending their seats with job approval rankings hovering around 50%. Pundits viewed seats in both states to be very vulnerable. Despite these similarities, the candidacies of Republican…
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