Gabrielle Giffords

Flashback: Giffords Warned Of 'Consequences' To Palin's Target Imagery (VIDEO)

Eric Kleefeld | January 8, 2011, 6:51PM

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ)

Back in March 2010, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) responded to the use of violent imagery and heated political rhetoric from conservative activists -- mentioning Sarah Palin's use of crosshairs on a map over Democratic-held districts such as hers. At the time, Giffords said that people should realize such rhetoric has consequences.

Giffords was shot today at a meet-and-greet with constituents in Tucson.

In March, Giffords appeared on MSNBC to talk about the then-recent vandalism of her office, which followed her vote for health care reform. During the interview, she said that political leaders had a responsibility to say they would not stand for violence.

Read more »

Gabrielle Giffords

Flashback: Palin Used Crosshair Targets For Giffords's District, Other Dems

Eric Kleefeld | January 8, 2011, 3:40PM

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin

Back in March 2010, Sarah Palin created a campaign push through her Facebook page against Democrats from conservative districts who had voted for the health care bill -- among them, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ), who was shot today.

The page used a picture of a map of the United States, with crosshair targets located over 20 districts that were carried by the McCain-Palin ticket in 2008, and whose representatives voted for the health care bill. The picture did not use photos of the members themselves, but instead placed the crosshairs over their geographic districts and included a list of their names below.

The page was promoted through Palin's Twitter account with the slogans, "Take Back the 20!" and, "Don't Retreat, Instead - RELOAD!"

[TPM SLIDESHOW: Dem Rep. Gabrielle Giffords Shot In Arizona]

Read more »

Gabrielle Giffords

Flashback: Giffords Opponent Had M16 Shooting Event, 'Help Remove Gabrielle Giffords From Office'

Eric Kleefeld | January 8, 2011, 3:20PM

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ)

Back in June 2010, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords's (D-AZ) Republican opponent Jesse Kelly had an event at which voters could shoot an assault rifle with the candidate, promoted as thus:

Get on Target for Victory in November Help remove Gabrielle Giffords from office Shoot a fully automatic M16 with Jesse Kelly

(Highlighted image via Blog For Arizona)

Late Update: Kelly has posted this statement on Twitter:

We are all deeply saddened by this morning's shooting. Gabrielle Giffords, the other victims, and their families are in our prayers.

Read more »

NY-01

Dem Rep. Tim Bishop Wins Final Contested House Race Of 2010

Eric Kleefeld | December 8, 2010, 10:20AM

Rep. Tim Bishop (D-NY)

The 2010 House cycle is now officially over, with Republican nominee Randy Altschuler conceding to incumbent Rep. Tim Bishop (D-NY) in the final disputed House seat of the cycle.

In the most recent totals, Bishop leads by 263 votes, with under 1,000 absentee ballots remaining to be counted. Bishop led by a very narrow margin in the Election Night count. However, during the recanvassing process -- when the counties essentially proofread their spreadsheets compared to the numbers from the voting machines -- Altschuler briefly pulled ahead.

However, absentee ballots remained to be counted, and Bishop took the lead as that process went forward. The Altschuler campaign attempted for a time to challenge absentee ballots on the grounds of residency or handwriting on the envelopes. But in the end, Altschuler called Bishop this morning to concede.

This finalizes the Republican gains of the cycle at 63 House seats, for a total House makeup of 242 Republicans to 193 Democrats.

2010 elections

Two House Races Remain Undecided

Marc Kilstein | November 24, 2010, 2:44PM

Rep. Tim Bishop (D-NY) and Rep. Jerry McNerney (D-CA)

And then there were two.

Three weeks after voters went to the polls, just two congressional races remain undecided. They are:

Read more »

2010 elections

Dems Maffei And Ortiz Concede House Races

Eric Kleefeld | November 23, 2010, 5:16PM

Rep. Dan Maffei (D-NY) and Rep. Solomon Ortiz (D-TX)

Two Democratic Congressman -- one old, and one new -- have conceded defeat to their challengers in this year's Republican wave.

In Texas's 27th District, Rep. Solomon Ortiz conceded last night to Republican challenger Blake Farenthold. Ortiz had previously demanded a recount, but only picked up about 150 votes -- still losing to Farenthold by about 650 votes. Ortiz was first elected all the way back in 1982. The district was carried by Barack Obama in 2008, by a margin of 53%-46%, but previously voted for George W. Bush by 55%-45% in 2004.

In New York's 25th District, Democratic freshman Rep. Dan Maffei has conceded to Republican Ann Marie Buerkle, by a margin of less than 600 votes. Maffei was first elected in 2008, picking up an open Republican-held seat after he'd narrowly lost a bid in 2006. The district voted 56%-43% for Barack Obama in 2008, and 50%-48% for John Kerry in 2004.

This brings the latest tally of Republican gains in the election to 63 seats.

Polling bias

Pew Study Finds Republican Bias In Landline-Only Polls

Marc Kilstein | November 23, 2010, 8:18AM

For years, people have contended that a right-leaning bias exists in public opinion polls that fail to consider cell phone users. This argument has some new backing-- a Pew Research Center report released Monday suggests that polls based on landline-only samples do, in fact, suffer from a Republican bias.

The report, which confirms findings from a mid-October study, suggests that support for Republican candidates is significantly higher when a survey's sample is composed only of landline telephone respondents, rather than both landline and cell phone users ("dual frame samples"). Pew calculates a bias among likely voters in 2010 that is about twice as large as the statistical skew evident in 2008 landline-only election surveys.

In the October study, Pew looked at four 2010 election polls and found that in three of them, "estimates from the landline samples alone produced slightly more support for Republican candidates and less support for Democratic candidates, resulting in differences of four to six points in the margin." In the latest study, it was determined that Republicans were favored in landline-only likely voter surveys by an average of 5.1 percentage points more than they were in polls with dual frame samples. In the 2008 presidential election, Barack Obama's lead over John McCain was on average 2.4 percentage points smaller in landline samples.

For a single-poll example of this trend, Pew's final pre-election poll found Republicans leading the congressional generic ballot question 51%-39% for the landline-only sample, whereas the lead narrowed to 48%-42% when cell phone interviews were also considered. Currently, the analysis notes, House Republicans lead by a seven-point margin.

While Americans are undeniably growing more reliant on cell phones, there are still those who have access to both a landline and cell phone ("dual users"). The report suggests that dual users who are reached by cell phone differ demographically and attitudinally from dual users reached on their landlines. As such, another bias emerges-- those reached by cell phone, who "are younger, more likely to be black or Hispanic, less likely to be college graduates, less conservative and more Democratic," gave the GOP a five-point advantage in the congressional generic ballot question, whereas Republicans led by 12-points among dual users reached by landline. Pollsters are thus faced with yet another bias to counter, as polling for the 2012 elections is already well underway.

For Pew's complete report, click here.

2010 elections

Seven House Races Still Undecided

Marc Kilstein | November 16, 2010, 8:46AM

Reps. Melissa Bean (D-IL), Tim Bishop (D-NY), Solomon P. Ortiz (D-TX) and Dan Maffei (D-NY)

Election season isn't finished quite yet. As of today, there remain seven House races that are still in dispute, one impending gubernatorial recount, and one messy Senate write-in fight.

So far, the partisan makeup of the new House is 238 Republicans versus 190 Democrats, with seven seats still up for grabs. All seven of the House seats that remain in question are held by Democrats; five of the contests are currently led by Republican challengers. The uncalled districts are:

Read more »

2010 elections

Allen West's Incoming Chief Of Staff Calls Pelosi 'Garbage'

Eric Kleefeld | November 10, 2010, 3:53PM

Rep.-elect Allen West (R-FL)

Joyce Kaufman, the south Florida talk-radio host and new incoming chief of staff for Rep.-elect Allen West (R-FL) has made an auspicious debut in her staff work: Calling outgoing Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) "garbage."

As The Hill reports:

Joyce Kaufman, the incoming chief of staff to Rep.-elect Allen West (R-Fla.), said: "Over these months I have been blessed to form very wonderful relationships with the West family. I looked at this family and [told] myself, 'How do you not fight and put them up on the pedestal when we've got this garbage up on the pedestal now, people like Nancy Pelosi?'"

Kaufman, a conservative South Florida radio personality, made the comments on her show Tuesday.

Read more »

Michele Bachmann

Bachmann: I Motivated People To 'Put That Gavel In John Boehner's Hands'

Eric Kleefeld | November 9, 2010, 12:45PM

Rep. Michele Bachmann

In an interview with Politico, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) touted her qualifications in her underdog bid for House GOP Conference Chair. As she pitched it, she helped to mobilize so many Tea Party activists for the Republican Party, with such events as her large-scale Tea Party event at the Capitol a year ago. And as such, she played a key role in delivering the House to the Republicans.

[TPM SLIDESHOW: The Year of Michele Bachmann]

"I have been able to bring a voice and motivate people to, in effect, put that gavel in John Boehner's hands, so that Republicans can lead going forward."

Read more »

VA-11

Dem Rep. Connolly Wins VA House Race, GOPer Fimian Concedes

Eric Kleefeld | November 9, 2010, 12:43PM

Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA)

Freshman Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA) has narrowly won re-election, and his Republican opponent Keith Fimian has conceded the race.

The most recent figures show Connolly winning by 981 votes, or a margin of 0.43% out of about 225,000 total ballots. Connolly was first elected in 2008, defeating Fimian to pick up an open GOP-held seat, and has now survived a Republican wave year that took out three other Virginia Democrats: Fellow freshmen Tom Perriello and Glenn Nye, plus longtime Rep. Rick Boucher.

"A recount only seeks to arrive at an accurate tally of all votes cast. In our race, we have not seen any obvious errors in the results," Fimian said in a press release. "And while we believe that there are a small number of ballots containing votes that have not yet been counted, we are confident based on the canvass that it is not enough to change the outcome of this contest."

MO-03

GOPer Ed Martin Concedes House Race After Previously Claiming Shenanigans

Eric Kleefeld | November 8, 2010, 12:08PM

House candidate Ed Martin (R-MO) and Rep. Russ Carnahan (D-MO)

Republican House candidate Ed Martin has now conceded a close race against Democratic Rep. Russ Carnahan, after Martin had initially claimed that voter fraud or other misbehavior may have been responsible for Carnahan's win.

On election, night, Martin narrowly led Carnahan for most of the count. But then some late returns from heavily Democratic areas of St. Louis put the incumbent ahead, and the media widely projected him to be the winner by a margin of about two percent.

Read more »

Allen West

The Crazy Class Of 2010: Meet The New GOP Stars

Eric Kleefeld | November 4, 2010, 8:38AM

Reps.-elect Allen West (R-FL), Vicky Hartzler (R-MO), Renee Ellmers (R-NC), Tim Walberg (R-MI)

With the 60-odd gains for the House Republicans, let's take a special look at a particular brand of Republicans, whose ranks have potentially been enlarged tonight: The Crazy Caucus, those members of Congress who become especially well known for saying and doing things that are not just very conservative, not just right-wing...but really out there.

[TPM SLIDESHOW: Meet Your New U.S. Senators]

Current folks that we've kept track of have included Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN), Rep. Steve King (R-IA), and Rep. Paul Broun (R-GA). It can be hard, looking at a crop of 60 incoming freshmen, to know exactly who will or won't distinguish themselves in this area. But in particular, four GOP pickups offer a lot of promise.

Other folks could very well pop up in the next two years, but these four bear close watching.

Read more »

Nancy Pelosi

Pelosi Tells Diane Sawyer: No Regrets, No Decisions (VIDEO)

Brian Beutler | November 3, 2010, 6:54PM

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi

In an exclusive interview with ABC News this evening, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi broke silence about the devastating losses her caucus suffered in Tuesday's midterm. Fighting back tears at times, Pelosi called the results "disappointing," but said she's made no decisions about what's next for her.

"I'll have a conversation with my caucus, I'll have a conversation with my family, and pray over it, and decide how to go forward," she said. "Today isn't that day."

Pelosi described the outcome as you'd expect: "a very disappointing result...a tough loss."

In a conversation with President Obama after it was clear the House was lost, the two "expressed pride in the work that we had done," she said, and has "no regrets," about how it all went down.

Read more »

2010 elections

Obama: Last Night Was A 'Shellacking' (VIDEO)

Jillian Rayfield | November 3, 2010, 2:48PM

President Obama gave a press conference today on last night's elections results, and said he learned some important lessons from the outcome. "I'm not recommending for future presidents that they take a shellacking like I did last night," he said, because "there are easier ways to learn these lessons."

Read more »

NRCC

NRCC: We're Going To Keep Our Big Gains In McCain Districts

Eric Kleefeld | November 3, 2010, 11:50AM

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ)

On a conference call with reporters just now, National Republican Congressional Committee Executive Director Guy Harrison touted the strength and extent of the party's big House victories last night -- and predicted that the GOP would have staying power in many of the conservative districts they picked up.

"When you really look at this at the start, this is exactly what we said the opportunity was. We had 48 races where McCain won, and a Democrat was sitting in that seat," said Harrison. "We have only 10 that survived that, and those will be the first on our pecking order next cycle."

Read more »

2010 elections

Boehner Cries, GOP Cheers: GOP Claims Victory In The House (VIDEO)

Evan McMorris-Santoro | November 3, 2010, 12:26AM

John Boehner

NRCC ELECTIONS HQ -- The next Speaker of the House is one emotional dude. As he celebrated the end of Democratic rule in the lower house of Congress with several hundred friends here in downtown Washington, John Boehner broke down and cried while the crowd chanted "USA! USA!"

"I've spent my life trying to chase the American dream," Boehner said, his voice cracking. He went on to espouse the virtues of capitalism and small business ownership in the way that you'd expect from the man who just led the Republican Party back from the political wilderness. Except with more tears.

Read more »

2010 elections

Barbour: New GOP House Majority Will Last

Evan McMorris-Santoro | November 2, 2010, 10:46PM

Gov. Haley Barbour (R-MS)

NRCC ELECTION HQ -- Haley Barbour told the crowd here to settle in for a nice long run in the Congressional majority after tonight.

"You're going to have a great number of years in the majority," he told the crowd of Republicans at this downtown DC hotel. "I don't know how many years, but it's going to be more than two -- I can tell you that."

Barbour, the current governor of Mississippi and the chair of the RNC during the GOP's 1994 electoral sweep, said that tonight's results are "more important" than the last Republican Revolution. President Obama and the Democrats in Congress "have taken the biggest lurch to the left in in American political history," he said, and tonight's Republican victories mean "the American people have given us instructions on how to get back on track."

Barbour, like all of the speakers here tonight, stressed that this election is just the first of many good days for Republicans still to come.

"Get ready for a big ride," Barbour said.

Tim Kaine

Kaine: Dems Will Lose The House

Brian Beutler | November 2, 2010, 10:10PM

Tim Kaine, DNC chair

Speaking to reporters at DNC headquarter moments ago, Chairman Tim Kaine told reporters that Democrats will lose the House of Representatives and the majority of governors mansions across the country.

In the end, he said, there will be "a Democrat in White House, a majority of Republican governors, a Democratic Senate, and a Republican house."

When asked if Speaker Nancy Pelosi should remain in Democratic leadership when her party becomes the minority, Kaine spoke her praises.

"If she wants to she definitely should. She has done a very good job of accomplishing things that i think are going to be very well regarded in history in terms of Speakers who been able to get things done."

2010 elections

At Election HQ, GOP Cheers Perriello & Grayson Defeats

Evan McMorris-Santoro | November 2, 2010, 9:11PM

RNC chairman Michael Steele

NRCC Election HQ -- The Republicans gathered at this downtown Washington hotel are starting to feel good about tonight. And nothing so far made them feel better than taking out Reps. Alan Grayson (D-FL) and Tom Perriello (D-VA).

The pair were top targets for the Republicans, just as they were national mascots of sorts for progressives across the country. And when Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR) announced to the still relatively thin crowd here tonight that the pair had been defeated, a mighty cheer rang out.

Periello's Fifth District seat got a visit from President Obama on Friday, a fact that was not lost on the crowds here. "Sorry," Walden joked, to laughter from the crowd.

RNC Chair Michael Steele also took the stage -- he and Walden are the first of many speakers expected to culminate with House Minority Leader John Boehner -- and did his best to pump up the already excited crowd even further. Steele said things look very good for the GOP on the House side, and he said they had their grassroots to thank.

"To our grassroots who got up early and knocked on doors late, we thank you," Steele said. "Thank you for helping us to pull this elephant, if you will, across the finish line. To turn the elephant to face the future."

2010 elections

Two Virginia Dems Go Down -- And It Could Get Worse

Eric Kleefeld | November 2, 2010, 8:56PM

Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA)

It's looking like a bloodbath tonight for Virginia Democrats, with two incumbent Congressmen already going down to defeat -- and possibly more on the way.

The Associated Press reports that Democratic Rep. Rick Boucher of VA-09, who was first elected in 1982, has lost re-election to Republican Morgan Griffith in this southwest Virginia district, after many years of its voters splitting their ticket between Boucher and Republican candidates.

Meanwhile, freshman Democratic Rep. Tom Perriello (D) of VA-05, who upset Republican incumbent Virgil Goode in 2008, has lost to Republican Robert Hurt.

That's not all: Two other freshman Dems, Glenn Nye and Gerry Connolly, both of whom picked up seats from the Republicans in 2008, are currently trailing in their seats. With 44% of precincts reporting in VA-02, Nye trails Republican Scott Rigell by 53%-43%. In VA-11, Connolly trails his 2008 Republican opponent Keith Fimian by a narrower 50%-48%, with 30% of precincts reporting.

Late Update: ABC and CBS have called VA-02 for Rigell. That's three Democrats losing in Virginia, with a possible fourth on the way.

Ben Chandler

Recount Possible In Key Kentucky House Race

Brian Beutler | November 2, 2010, 8:49PM

Rep. Ben Chandler (D-KY)

A quick update from DNC headquarters.

With over 80 percent of precincts reporting, incumbent Dem Ben Chandler in Kentucky's sixth congressional district is holding on to a razor thin lead over his Republican opponent Andy Barr. With over 80 percent of districts reporting, Chandler enjoys a 500 vote margin. This is a seat Dems regard as a bellwether, and at least one Dem source suggests it will likely end in the recount.

2010 elections

Alan Grayson's Political Career Dies Quickly

Eric Kleefeld | November 2, 2010, 8:48PM

Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL)

Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL), the freshman Democrat who defeated a Republican incumbent in 2008, and then became a star of the blogosphere and cable TV for his full-throated attacks against Republicans, has now gone down in crushing defeat, so soon after he burst onto the national scene.

With 160 of 239 precincts reporting, Republican former state Sen. Dan Webster leads Grayson 57.4%-39.2%, and has been projected as the winner by CNN and the Orlando Sentinel.

Read more »

NC-04

GOP Consultant's Sales Pitch: I Can Get You Morgan Freeman's Voice (Not!)

Eric Kleefeld | November 2, 2010, 4:07PM

Morgan Freeman

The plot has really thickened on that North Carolina GOP House candidate, B.J. Lawson, who ran an ad featuring a fake "Morgan Freeman" voiceover. It turns out that the GOP consultant who created the ad has a history of making a sales pitch to candidates: That he can get Morgan Freeman to record ads for them.

As Politico reports, Republican consultant Ben Mathis has also offered the voice of "Morgan Freeman" to a state Senate campaign in New York, plus the voice of Seinfeld actor and Family Feud host John O'Hurley.

Read more »

NC-04

Recriminations Fly As Morgan Freeman Sucked Into NC GOPer's Hoax Ad (VIDEO)

Eric Kleefeld | November 2, 2010, 10:54AM

Morgan Freeman

Here's a fun last-minute scrap in Campaign 2010. B.J. Lawson, the Republican candidate against North Carolina Democratic Rep. David Price, ran a TV ad that featured a voiceover that sounded like Morgan Freeman. Then the campaign said it was Morgan Freeman -- and then Morgan Freeman, who has in the past supported Democratic candidates such as President Obama, made it quite clear that it wasn't him.

Freeman's press agents sent Ben Smith a statement: "These people are lying. I have never recorded any campaign ads for B.J. Lawson and I do not support his candidacy. And, no one who represents me ever has ever authorized the use of my name, voice or any other likeness in support of Mr. Lawson or his candidacy."

The Lawson campaign said that they were "tricked" -- that the ad company they contracted with promised them Morgan Freeman. Lawson campaign spokesman Martin Avila told CNN: "We're apologizing to Congressman Price, to the voters, and most of all to Morgan Freeman because this is not the campaign we wanted to run, and not the campaign we have run."

Read more »

2010 elections

Every Cloud Has A Silver Lining: The GOP House Seats That Could Go Dem Tonight

Eric Kleefeld | November 2, 2010, 9:28AM

Rep. Joseph Cao (R-LA)

So as we stare down the barrel of some big Democratic losses in the House today, let's look at another end of the equation. It's often noted that Republicans need to pick up 39 seats to win a majority, but it is also theoretically possible that they could pick up 39 seats and still not win control. Why? Because there are in fact a very small handful of seats that they hold that the Democrats could nevertheless pickup in even this bad year.

Keep in mind, these wave cycles often have a few seats that swing the other way. Even in 1994, Democrats picked up such seats as Maine-02 and Rhode Island-01. The 2006 midterm year was interesting, with Republican picking up nothing -- not one measly House seat -- but even in 2008 they won a couple seats back, such as Kansas-02 and Texas-22, even as they lost another net 21 seats.

So let's take a quick look at the Republican-held House seats that according to the leading ratings out there -- CQ, Cook Political Report, Rothenberg Political Report, and Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball -- are expected to go to the Dems.

To be honest, there aren't that many of them -- though who knows, there could be some surprises tonight. The criteria here are that the ratings guys all have these seats ranging from toss-up to leaning Dem to Dem favored. It's a short list, but each one of them would move back the goalpost for a Republican House. Then again, if the national GOP wave turns out to be as big as everyone says, it won't be too much of an issue -- though it surely means something to the Dem candidates in these individual districts.

Read more »

Nazi Reenactor

After Joint Campaign Stop, Nazi Reenactor Hedges On Boehner For Speaker

Brian Beutler | October 30, 2010, 2:53PM

House Minority Leader John Boehner took on the conventional wisdom that it's bad politics to associate with Nazi reenactors by campaigning recently with Ohio congressional candidate Rich Iott. That's about the only public support Iott's received from the GOP since his SS scandal broke.

Returning the favor, Iott, who's running in Ohio's 9th congressional district, now won't say whether he'd support Boehner for Speaker.

Read more »

Tom Ganley

Republican Candidate Threatens To Sue Democrats Over Charges Of Sexual Harassment

Brian Beutler | October 30, 2010, 11:00AM

OH-13 House candidate Tom Ganley (R)

Republican congressional candidate Tom Ganley is obliquely threatening to sue his opponent -- Rep. Betty Sutton of Ohio's 13th district -- and the rest of the Democratic Party after multiple women came forward to accuse him of sexual harassment.

I have reason to believe the vile lies against me have been carefully orchestrated by Betty Sutton, the Ohio Democratic Party, and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. I will be meeting with my attorneys this weekend to see if legal action can be filed for the Democrats' efforts to derail my campaign and ruin my reputation.

Before Ganley concocted that explanation for the rash of sex crimes he's been accused of, House Minority John Boehner put Ganley on the list of candidates he'd be campaigning with this weekend.

Andrew Breitbart

Andrew Breitbart To Provide "Analysis" For ABC News On Election Night

Brian Beutler | October 29, 2010, 7:00PM

Andrew Breitbart

ABC News has confirmed that conservative agitprop artist Andrew Breitbart will join the ABC News team to provide "live analysis" of election returns on Tuesday night.

Read more »

Tom Ganley

Second Woman Accuses Ohio GOPer Of Sexual Harassment

Eric Lach | October 29, 2010, 6:04PM

OH-13 House candidate Tom Ganley (R)

For the second time in a month, Republican congressional candidate Tom Ganley, running in Ohio's 13th district, has been accused of sexual harassment.

Read more »

Stephen Colbert

Colbert To Tom Perriello: Is Running On The Democrats' Record 'A Cry For Help'? (VIDEO)

Jillian Rayfield | October 28, 2010, 12:53PM

Stephen Colbert talked to Rep. Tom Perriello (D-VA) last night about his tough re-election campaign, and called him "a rare breed" of Democrat because "you're actually campaigning on the Democrats' record. Why are you trying to hurt yourself like this? Is it a cry for help?"

Colbert had pointed out earlier in the show that most Democrats are running away from President Obama and the Democratic Party's record. "Last time I saw that many people run away from their party was when I called the cops on some high school kids," Colbert said.

Perriello, Colbert said, is one Democrat "who has the guts to stand by what the Democrats have achieved," but is having a tough time in the campaign as a result. So Colbert asked him why he's been "throwing around these esoteric concepts like education and jobs. Why not run on a universal message: Muslims freak me out."

Read more »

NJ-03

GOPer Runyan Admits He Hasn't Read Health Care Bill Either

Eric Kleefeld | October 28, 2010, 11:21AM

NJ-03 House candidate Jon Runyan (R)

Jon Runyan, the former pro football player and now Republican candidate for the House against freshman Rep. John Adler (D-NJ), had a fun exchange at a debate Tuesday night. He says members of Congress should read all the bills they pass; he wants to fully repeal the health care reform bill; and, it turns out, he hasn't read the health care bill.

Adler shot this at his Republican opponent: "Respectfully Jon, I'm not sure you've ever read one bill in Congress ever, not one."

"Well I'm not in Congress," Runyan responded.

Runyan went on to explain further: "I've read several bills. If you're gonna pass a piece of legislation, you should be able to walk out on the street and hand it to the first person you see. They should be able to read and understand that."

Read more »

Judson Phillips

Tea Party Nation Doubles Down On Rhetoric Against Muslim Rep.

Eric Lach | October 27, 2010, 5:53PM

Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN)

Tea Party Nation founder Judson Phillips is defending an email he wrote calling on supporters to help "retire" Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) because, among other reasons, "He is the only Muslim member of congress." In an email to supporters sent last night and in an interview with The Daily Caller, Phillips said he wouldn't apologize for having a "problem" with Islam.

Read more »

Early Voting

Gallup Poll: Early Voting High Out West And Among Older Voters, But Little Partisan Implications

Marc Kilstein | October 27, 2010, 1:29PM

Voters waiting in line to vote early

While the midterm election date is set for Tuesday, many Americans have already cast their votes through absentee and early-voting procedures. New numbers from a USA Today/Gallup poll suggest early voting is highest among older Americans and people living out West. So which party does this poll suggest is faring better thus far?

Eh, Republicans by a bit, but the advantage isn't all that telling.

As the pollster puts it, "While interested observers have been poring over reports of early voting in an attempt to get a handle on the direction of the election, Gallup's current data do not show much of a difference in early voting by party affiliation." The numbers are as follows: 13% of self-identified Republicans have already voted, with 15% more planning to vote before election day, while 9% of Democrats have already voted, with 14% more planning to vote prior to Tuesday. The poll finds that 9% of independents have already voted and 19% more plan to vote between now and November 2nd.

While these numbers may not suggest a whole lot about how the election will play out, some numbers from the poll do stand out--as 27% of registered voters indicated they either have already voted or plan to before election day, 59% of that total comes from the West and 36% is from voters over 65 years old. In the East, only 6% of respondents stated they have or will make use of early voting procedures, and in the 18-29 age range, 16% of those polled stated they have or intend to vote early. Twenty-eight percent of the young age range said they do not plan to vote or don't know whether or not they will, while only 6% of respondents over 65 expressed the same sentiment.

The pollster concludes, "The finding that older voters have a higher propensity to vote early is not a new one, but confirms that many senior citizens, like residents in the West, are by this point in the election cycle essentially 'out of the game' as far as the campaigning is concerned. A disproportionately high number of younger registered voters volunteer that they will not end up voting this year, also confirming what is well-known in American politics -- that young voters are as a rule not highly involved in the election process."

The results are based on a question included in an October 21-24 survey among 1364 registered voters. Last week, we reported on early voting numbers provided by partisan voter registrations.

2010 elections

The Hill: Republicans Set To Pick Up 50 Or More House Seats

Marc Kilstein | October 27, 2010, 12:03PM

The US Capitol Building

Over the last four weeks, The Hill and pollster Penn Schoen Berland have polled 42 toss-up congressional districts across the country, in an attempt to predict the magnitude of the upcoming election's congressional shakeup. The latest poll foresees a tough election day for the Democrats.

The survey's numbers suggest that Republicans are poised to win more than enough seats to take control away from the Democrats in the House next year. With the party needing to pick up 39 seats for majority control, The Hill's data suggests they are likely to take 50 or more.

Read more »

KY-03

KY GOPer On Gender Discrimination: I'll Believe In It When I See It (VIDEO)

Evan McMorris-Santoro | October 27, 2010, 10:34AM

Todd Lally

In Kentucky, one Republican is standing firm against the concept of gender discrimination. Todd Lally, insurgent GOP nominee for Congress in the state's 3rd Congressional District, says he's never personally seen women be discriminated against -- and therefore, he says, gender discrimination may not exist at all.

Even in this so-called Year Of The Woman in politics, the vast majority of women casting ballots this year will find themselves choosing between two men to represent them in elected office. And in Kentucky, the choice includes one man who seems to base his entire knowledge of women's professional lives on the experience of his very successful wife and his own workplace observations.

The Democrat in the race, incumbent Rep. John Yarmuth, is making hay out of Tally's position, recently calling him out at a televised debate with facts and figures about women in Kentucky workplaces. Lally's response at the debate was essentially to shrug his shoulders and again say he doesn't know from gender discrimination.

Read more »

FL-08

Susquehanna (R) Poll: Alan Grayson Trails By Seven Points

Eric Kleefeld | October 26, 2010, 3:55PM

Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL)

A new Susquehanna (R) poll, commissioned by the conservative Florida news site Sunshine State News, has first-term Democratic Rep. Alan Grayson trailing his Republican opponent, former state Sen. Dan Webster.

The numbers: Webster 48%, Grayson 41%, Tea Party candidate Peg Dunmire 4%, and independent George Metcalfe 1%. The survey of likely voters has a ±3.46% margin of error. In the previous poll from a month ago, Webster had 43%, Grayson 36%, Dunmire 6%, and Metcalfe 3%.

Read more »

VA-05

Obama To Stump For Liberal Star Perriello In VA-05

Evan McMorris-Santoro | October 26, 2010, 12:46PM

President Obama and Rep. Tom Perriello (D-VA)

President Obama will lend a helping hand to an embattled star of the progressive movement in the House, TPM has learned. On Friday, Obama will stump for Rep. Tom Perriello, the first-term Democrat from Virginia's 5th Congressional district who's facing tough competition from Republicans eager to take back his Charlottesville-area seat.

A Democratic source speaking on background called the Obama visit "big" and said the VA-05 race is "still close."

The TPM Poll Average shows Hurt leading the race with 47.6% of the vote and Perriello running a close second with 43.5% support. Third-party conservative candidate Jeffrey Clark draws 2.7% support.

Read more »

Keith Ellison

Tea Party Nation: Retire Rep. Ellison For Being A Muslim

Eric Lach | October 25, 2010, 6:06PM

Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN)

This weekend, Tea Party Nation (TPN) sent an email in support of Lynne Torgerson, who is running against Rep. Keith Ellison in Minnesota. In the email, TPN lists the reasons Ellison should be "retired." Among them: "He is the only Muslim member of congress."

Read more »