The Broader Message in Virginia’s Negative Senate Race

The Virginia Senate race, which has largely stayed off the national media’s radar screen because incumbent Democrat Mark Warner is expected to be comfortably reelected, illustrates how negative television advertising has come to dominate political campaigns. Polls show Sen. Warner leading his opponent, former Republican National Committee chairman Ed Gillespie, by seven t0 10 points. Yet the Warner campaign chose to go negative, creating ads that labeled Mr. Gillespie a “million-dollar lobbyist who has never looked out for you” and who worked for Enron and “a dictator now awaiting trial for war crimes.”
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A Closer Look at GOP Gains Among Latinos and Young Voters

Two recent surveys of Latinos and young people, both previously considered mostly Democratic supporters, prove that these groups do swing in their voting patterns, something Democrats should keep in mind for 2016. A Pew Research Center survey–written about further here–found that most Hispanic voters still favor Democrats but that support has been shrinking the past four years. Similarly, 18- to 30-year-olds who were so excited by Barack Obama‘s 2008 candidacy have cooled on both politics and the Democrats.
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What Are Republican Motivations in Voting Laws?

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie made a startling pronouncement this week about why Republicans need to win the statehouses in key swing states this year that was almost certainly tied to his presidential ambitions. At a U.S. Chamber of Commerce event Tuesday, Gov. Christie said that Republicans must win gubernatorial races this year so they control voting procedures for 2016.
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We’re Getting an Ebola Czar. We Need a Surgeon General.

Former vice presidential chief of staff Ron Klain will be the new “Ebola czar” to, as President Barack Obama put it Thursday, “make sure that we’re crossing all the T’s and dotting all the I’s going forward.” Mr. Klain may have significant political skills, but he has no medical training or public health experience. His appointment also wouldn’t have been necessary if the U.S. had a confirmed surgeon general. But the position of America’s chief doctor has been unfilled since July 2013 because of politics.
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In Kansas Senate Debate, Washington Takes Center Stage

After about the 20th reference it was hard to keep track of how many times Sen. Pat Roberts (R.) mentioned the “Reid-Obama agenda” in his Wednesday night debate with Greg Orman. Sen. Roberts wanted the voters of Kansas to know that although Mr. Orman is running as an independent he is really a “liberal Democrat” who would side with President Barack Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Meanwhile, Mr. Roberts portrayed himself as a “trusted conservative Republican” who would help the GOP secure a Senate majority. Mr. Roberts said that “the number one thing” in this election is winning the Senate for the Republicans.
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How Politics as Usual Is Alienating Voters But Boosting Independents

Monday night’s debate between Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and his Democratic opponent, Alison Lundergan Grimes, illustrates why Americans are so unenthusiastic about the midterm elections. Pollster Peter D. Hart wrote in Think Tank on Monday that voters are both angry and disinterested. It’s no mystery why: When forced to choose between a Democrat and a Republican, a lot of voters aren’t enthusiastic about either–and don’t think voting for either would change much in Washington. By not showing up, voters are saying, “None of the above.”
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The Independents Who Could Tip the Senate in November

Anyone who has been talking to voters around the country and watching public opinion polls knows that American voters are angry, tired of both political parties, and ready for a change. Until very recently, though, that frustration has had almost no outlet, as independent candidates for office in the past were rarely competitive and almost always dismissed by the national media as a sideshow. Not this year.
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The Independents Who Could Tip the Senate in November

Anyone who has been talking to voters around the country and watching public opinion polls knows that American voters are angry, tired of both political parties, and ready for a change. Until very recently, though, that frustration has had almost no outlet, as independent candidates for office in the past were rarely competitive and almost always dismissed by the national media as a sideshow. Not this year.
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The Voter ID Issue That’s Still Unresolved

On the heels of two Supreme Court rulings upholding voting restrictions in Ohio and North Carolina came some good news Thursday for voting rights supporters: The Supreme Court put Wisconsin’s voter ID law on hold for this election, and a federal judge overturned Texas’s strict voter ID law. The high court’s 6-3 vote overturned a federal appeals court ruling Monday that would have allowed the Wisconsin law, passed in 2011 by the state’s Republican-held legislature and supported by Gov. Scott Walker (R.) to take effect. Justices Samuel Alito, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas dissented, but they acknowledged “the proximity of the upcoming general election” as a reason for the majority decision along with concern that some Wisconsin voters have already cast absentee ballots for November without using the identification the law would require.
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Why Is the Supreme Court Making It Harder for People to Vote?

I wrote here Wednesday about the partisan legal battles over voting rights, just hours before the Supreme Court issued an order upholding a North Carolina law that eliminated same-day registration and voting and disqualified ballots cast in the wrong precincts. This action, from which Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor dissented, followed the court’s 5-4 decision last week upholding limits on early voting in Ohio.
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