Wisconsin
Republicans In Minnesota Warming to Obama More Than In Other Upper Midwestern States
Barack Obama is officially in the ‘honeymoon phase’ of his presidency – the 44th president is just one week into his administration with approval ratings through the roof (67 percent in the latest Gallup survey, with just 14 percent disapproving)….
Read MoreWill the Minnesota-Wisconsin Shared State Services Plan Work?
On Tuesday, Minnesota Republican Governor Tim Pawlenty and Wisconsin Democratic Governor Jim Doyle signed executive orders calling for department heads to identify, by the end of February, “Specific activities, programs, and services … for potential cooperative service arrangements.” The orders…
Read MoreThe Frugal Three: Wisconsin Legislators Reject Annual Pay Increase
In a year that has seen rising unemployment, a volatile stock market, and increasing state and federal budget deficits, the backlash on talk radio and in print against legislators in D.C. and at state capitols for receiving pay raises has…
Read MoreMinnesota ’08 U.S. House Contests More Competitive Than National Average by Double-Digits
As Minnesota gears up for congressional and legislative redistricting in the next few years, as well as the possible loss of a U.S. House seat, the Gopher State can take some pride in the fact that its U.S. House contests…
Read MoreMinnesota Leads Nation in Voter Turnout for Seventh Straight Election Cycle
Minnesota voters, buoyed perhaps both by a strong sense of civic duty, a high interest in politics, and a little thing called same-day registration, have once again led the country in voter turnout in the 2008 election. The Gopher State…
Read MoreUpper Midwestern Reapportionment, Part II: A Historical Overview
In a follow-up to yesterday’s discussion of the 2012 projected reapportionment, Smart Politics presents two tables to illustrate the diminishing political influence of Minnesota and the Upper Midwestern battleground states in the U.S. House as a result of population shifts…
Read MoreBigger D.C. Power Broker: Jim Oberstar or David Obey?
The Upper Midwest is home to a disproportionate amount of power when it comes to its Representatives in the U.S. House. Three of the twenty-one House Committee chairs hail from Minnesota and Wisconsin, with two of those, DFL Congressmen…
Read MoreDemocratic Control in Wisconsin At Greatest Level in a Generation
With its takeover of the State Assembly last week, Democrats now control both legislative chambers and the governor’s office in the Badger State for the first time since the 1984 election. Wisconsin Democrats were able to accomplish in 2008 what…
Read MoreDemocrats Take Control of Wisconsin Assembly
As projected at Smart Politics on Monday, the Democratic Party has taken back control of the Wisconsin Assembly, for the first time since 1992. Democrats appear to have picked up five seats (with 1st term Democrat Kim Hixon’s defense of…
Read MoreWisconsin Votes Democratic By Larger Margin Than Minnesota for First Time in 72 Years
Barack Obama’s sweep through most of the Midwest on Tuesday night was perhaps most notable for his victory in Indiana. But there were other historical oddities with Obama’s victory that occurred in the region, one of which was that, for…
Read More