National Politics
DFL Goal to Defeat Bachmann Faces Significant Historical Challenges
Minnesota GOP has held 95 percent of its U.S. House seats when Republicans net a dozen or more seats nationwide since the DFL merger in 1944
Read MoreCharlie Crist and the Long Odds of an Independent U.S. Senate Candidacy
Only six men have been elected to a first term in the U.S. Senate without major party backing since popular vote elections in 1914
Read MoreRemembering the Historic Gubernatorial Class of 2002
25 candidates were elected governor for the first time in 2002, the largest number since WWII; record could be eclipsed in 2010
Read MoreUnfamiliar Faces: 2010 Likely to Set Mark for Fewest U.S. House Incumbents on the Ballot this Decade
Seats without incumbents on the ballot are 56 percent more likely to be Republican than Democratic since 2002
Read MoreHistory Suggests Kagan Confirmation Process Will Be Rockier than Sotomayor’s
Presidents since Woodrow Wilson have faced increased Senatorial opposition in attempts to get their second Supreme Court Justice seated; only 1 such nominee out of 13 received greater support from Senate
Read MoreHow Competitive Are U.S. House Special Elections?
Special elections are 17.4 points more competitive than general election contests; special election seats are also 4 times more likely to switch parties
Read MoreDavid Obey’s Exit and the Badger State Congressmen Who Left Before Him
Obey served alongside 31 different Wisconsin U.S. Representatives since election in 1969
Read MoreCan Pawlenty Launch a Sam’s Club Presidential Campaign from a Target State?
Minnesota ranks #33 in the nation in Sam’s Club & Wal-Mart stores per capita, and ranks #1 for Target
Read MoreReapportionment Winners and Losers Through the Years
Pennsylvania (-17 seats) and New York (-16 seats) have lost the largest number of seats from their peak U.S. House delegations; the Keystone State is slated to lose a seat again for a 9th consecutive census period
Read MoreWill the GOP Sweep North and South Dakota’s U.S. House Seats?
Republicans have never carried both single-member at-large districts in the same election cycle; Democrats have won 25 of 29 U.S. House contests in the Dakotas since 1982
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