Ronald Reagan famously explained in 1962 that “I didn’t leave the Democratic Party. The party left me.” Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA) and Rep. Parker Griffith (R-AL) made similar statements when they hopped the aisle, but as primaries proved this month, their moves were less successful.
Sean Trende noted back in December 2009 that party switchers have [...]
Writing Archive
Lives of the Party
The Week in Electoral Maps
No fancy maps today, just the Pennsylvania, Kentucky, and Arkansas primary maps for your records. It took a Canadian blog called World Elections to produce these great ones (which should come as a challenge to all American cartographers and political junkies).
In “the alcoholic republic,” on the Democratic side, Jack Conway cleaned up in the Louisville [...]
Republicans Regress in Pennsylvania-12
True, the DCCC is the Don Shula of special elections. But as Tom Davis said, “If you can’t win a seat that is trending Republican in a year like this, then where is the wave?”
Pennsylvania’s 12th is well-known as the only seat that went from Kerry to McCain. Fayette County is perhaps its best battleground [...]
The Battle for Westsylvania
Voters across the state of Westsylvania go to the polls today to select their nominees for the U.S. Senate and to chose a successor to the late Rep. John Murtha. Where, you may ask, is Westsylvania? It was the proposed 14th colony in the western mountains of Virginia and Pennsylvania, whose borders would [...]
Map of the Day: Democrats On Notice in Clintonian Belt
One of the best predictors of Democrats’ fortunes in the Fall is the ole Clinton vs. Obama electoral map. Incumbents in what can be called the Clintonian Belt are on notice. Last week, 18-year Rep. Alan Mollohan (D) was defeated in a primary in northern West Virginia, a state where Clinton won with 67%.
On Tuesday, [...]
Murtha’s District Likely to Go Republican
Question: What was the only district to vote for John Kerry in 2004 and John McCain in 2008?
Answer: Pennsylvania’s 12th District, which was represented by the late John Murtha.
This district will be filled by a special election that will likely be March 18. In a race between a generic Democratic and a generic Republican, the [...]
Political Geography Week in Review: Happy Holidays
I hope you all had an enjoyable holiday vacation. If you were like me and took a few days off from news, then you may have some digging out to do. So I pulled together a review of some of the biggest stories in political geography from the last few weeks. Here it goes:
We learned [...]
A Better Use for the Murtha Airport Funds
The Washington Post reported recently that Rep. John Murtha has diverted millions in federal funds in recent years to a local airport in his district… aptly named John Murtha Johnstown-Cambria County Airport. He’s even earmarked over $800,000 in federal stimulus money to repave a runway that gets only three commercial flights each day, all [...]
Even the Steelers Can’t Rescue Pittsburgh
Well, I don’t exactly believe that Steel City needs rescuing, but that’s the basic gist of Jerry Bowyer’s recent column in the Wall Street Journal. While I don’t particularly agree with Bowyer’s central premise that taxpayer-funded stadiums do not serve their intended purpose of reinvigorating city’s “cores,” I do think it’s a smart article and [...]
Chuck Todd Says PA is “Gone” for McCain
If the networks are right and McCain has lost Pennsylvania — a state that he blanketed in the past weeks — and New Hampshire — a state he calls his “second home” — then is his spine broken? How does he win without those two states?
In the words of Tim Russert, “Florida, Florida, Florida.”
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