Appointed Senators Rarely Win Re-Election
In November, two Republicans, Roger Wicker of Mississippi and John Barrasso of Wyoming, appeared on the ballot for the first time as candidates for U.S. Senate, after having been appointed to the...
View ArticleFeingold Introduces 28th Amendment
I hope you’ll excuse the hubristic headline. Constitutional amendments are introduced all the time in the Congress. Most of them are used to make a political point of one kind or another and stand...
View ArticleDepartment of Colossally Stupid Ideas: Repeal 17th Amendment
I realize it’s a splinter movement within a splinter movement, but let’s hope those agitating for a repeal of the 17th Amendment get about as far as the vast majority of constitutional amendment...
View ArticleSenator Byrd is Ill; A Note on West Virginia’s Vacancy Laws
The 92-year-old Senator Robert Byrd, the longest-serving senator in United States history, is seriously ill, according to his office. Byrd has been hospitalized three times since 2009. If he were not...
View ArticleDisliking Congress, as a Whole And as Individuals
I recently examined how Congress’s low approval rating could hurt Republicans in the midterm elections. The national political environment in 2014 doesn’t appear as pro-GOP as it was in 2010. Instead,...
View ArticleCorruption Charges Against Menendez Could Be Good News For Christie
The Department of Justice is preparing to charge New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez with corruption. Menendez, a Democrat, may not leave office quietly — his term isn’t up until 2018 — but if he does resign,...
View ArticleThe Senate Will Be Competitive Again In 2020, But Republicans Are Favored
Before the election, we took a way-too-early look at the 2020 battleground — in the U.S. Senate. We landed on this takeaway: Democrats really couldn’t afford to lose much ground in the 2018 elections...
View ArticleMartha McSally May Run For Senate Twice In Two Years. How Have Others Like...
Despite losing a Senate election last November, Republican Martha McSally still became a U.S. senator. She was appointed to fill the seat held by the late Sen. John McCain,1 but to hold on to the seat,...
View ArticleProgressive Groups Are Getting More Selective In Targeting Incumbents. Is It...
In 2018, now-Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ayanna Pressley shocked the political world by unseating 20-year incumbents in their Democratic primaries. And this year, the trend continued with...
View ArticleMost Candidates Take The Hint After Two Losses. Why Won’t Beto O’Rourke and...
On paper, former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke and current Florida Rep. Charlie Crist have little in common. The former, a somewhat progressive three-term Democratic House member with a failed presidential...
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