Eye-popping total advertising spending numbers draw the headlines, but the distribution of that spending — looking beyond geographic targeting, and party advantage — can also reveal important insights into the campaign. In particular, where political ad buyers are putting their money can tell us a…
Iowa Senate — Rating: Lean Republican
Interview Date: Nov. 5, 2019
Date of Birth: Oct. 20, 1963; Blue Earth, Minn.
Education: Minnesota State Univ. (1987); Iowa Lakes Community College (attended); College of Saint Benedict (attended); Iowa State Univ. (attended).
Elected Office: None; 2018 3rd…
After weeks of public hearings and the eve of a vote, I’m ready to take a stand on impeachment. Well, not quite. Actually, there are more than a few pieces of the impeachment coverage, arguments, and narrative that are driving me crazy. And writing a few hundred words seems like a semi-healthy way…
As if impeachment wasn’t providing enough news, New Jersey Rep. Jeff Van Drew decided to switch parties. Even though it’s not quite official, more than half of his staff resigning should be a significant clue. His decision changes the partisan makeup in the House by a seat without fundamentally…
On Monday, a panel of state judges in North Carolina ruled that a new congressional district map drawn by Republican state legislators will be used in the 2020 election. While Democrats argued that the map is still a partisan gerrymander that gives Republicans a likely 8-5 advantage, the judges…
Democrats have won just one statewide race in Kansas over the last decade, but Kris Kobach’s potential nomination in 2020 is fueling Democratic hopes and could significantly improve the party’s prospects of regaining control of the Senate.
Even though Donald Trump won Kansas easily in 2016, and…
Arizona has voted Democratic in only one of the last 17 presidential elections going back to 1952. That was in 1996, when President Bill Clinton won re-election in a three-way race. Minnesota, on the other hand, has been a Democratic bedrock, with Democratic presidential nominees carrying the state…
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