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challengers

Supreme Court’s Chance to Cut Taxes

 Do you earn any money outside your state? Whether you’re an NBA player or a lowly lecturer-consultant like some of us, you know the drill: Pay income tax where you earned the money, then get a credit from your home state when you file your return. Unless, that is, you live in Maryland. Maryland refuses […] Read More →

Don’t Count On An Election-Day Tsunami

Jeff Jacoby,  Democrat Seth Moulton’s defeat of US Representative John Tierney in the 6th Congressional District primary last week came right on schedule.  The political newcomer, an Iraq War veteran with three Harvard degrees, was the first Massachusetts candidate in 22 years to vanquish a sitting congressman from his own party. It last happened in 1992, […] Read More →

Tap The Breaks On That Tea Party Decline

Mark Davis  The moment Matt Bevin was shown the door back to private life in Kentucky Tuesday night, you could hear liberal analysts’ hands rub together in glee. Their night had come, another milepost on the road toward the extinction of the dreaded Tea Party. How else to explain Mitch McConnell’s win, and the failure […] Read More →

McFadden vs Ortman in Minnesota: US Senate

 It looks like it’s going to be another tea party vs establishment battle in a Minnesota Republican primary. This time, businessman Mike McFadden is getting the support of the establishment and has been deemed the “electable” candidate by many party insiders. This is based, I guess, on his ability to raise money, which he has […] Read More →

Tea party challengers struggle to continue success

 Four years after the tea party rocked the political world by ousting several prominent Republicans in Congress, the ultra-conservative movement finds itself with slimmer prospects as it moves into the new election season. In Tuesday’s first-in-the-nation primaries in Texas, the movement mostly settled for having an impact on key races rather than actually winning them. […] Read More →

Texas primary leaves tea party influence unsettled

 The first primary in what Republicans hope is a triumphant election year sent a message that U.S. Sen Ted Cruz and the tea party still wield considerable influence in one of the nation’s most conservative states. But to find out exactly how much, Texans will have to wait. In a primary where an extraordinary number […] Read More →

Don’t Write Those Tea Party Obituaries Just Yet

 February marked the fifth anniversary of the reemergence of the label “Tea Party” in American politics. It was in February 2009 that Rick Santelli delivered his famous rant on CNBC, and a few days later, a group calling itself the Tea Party Patriots was organized. Today the conventional wisdom is that the Tea Party movement […] Read More →

Senators hit rivals hard and fast in GOP primaries

 Republican senators are attacking GOP challengers earlier and more aggressively than in past elections, including using opposition research to try to knock out upstart rivals before they become serious threats. These senators are eager to avoid the fate of colleagues who fell victim to tea party-backed rivals they had shrugged off. In Kentucky, the tea […] Read More →

NC Senate Preview: Liberal Hagan in Trouble

 US Senator Kay Hagan has seen her seat land into the lean Republican land as her mostly unknown challengers have begun building a lead on her. (See: 2014 Senate Balance of Power Ratings.) Most recently, Hagan trailed her top two challenger by 7 points (Thom Tillis) and 4 points(Greg Brannon), according to a poll released […] Read More →

Military veterans campaign as can-do candidates

When he meets voters in Pennsylvania’s 8th Congressional District, former Army Ranger Kevin Strouse recounts how he helped clear a city block in Iraq during the rescue of prisoner of war Jessica Lynch in 2003. The story is meant to show his experience working with others to accomplish a goal. “In the military, it’s always […] Read More →

GOP Expects Slew Of Primary Battles in 2014

House Republicans are facing a host of challenges in the 2014 midterm elections, but some of the biggest battles could take place within the party. As public anger over the political infighting in Washington continues to grow ahead of the primaries, incumbents across the ideological divide will find themselves facing GOP contestants eager to upend […] Read More →