New Gallup/USA Today/MTV Poll: Obama's Youth Advantage at 61 - 32% (Mike Connery)
A new poll by Gallup/MTV/USA Today gives Obama a 61 - 32% advantage over John McCain among young voters. That's not super surprising if you've followed youth polling this cycle. What is surprising: that is the most lopsided advantage among any age group recorded in modern Presidential politics.
Posted at 10/06/2008 04:10:23 PM EST - #
SEIU Ad: "Worried Sick" (Joaquin H Guerra)
On Friday, the Associated Press reported that while voters prefer Barack Obama's health care plan to John McCain's, many voters - particularly independents and seniors - do not have a clear understanding of the differences between the two proposals. SEIU's new effortSEIU's new effort - which incorporates advertising, mail, phone calls, and door-to-door canvassing - aims at providing undecided voters with detailed information about the candidates' health care plans.
Posted at 10/06/2008 03:35:17 PM EST - #
Interview with Russ Feingold (MN Campaign Report)
Russ Feingold was in town this weekend in support of Al Franken and Ashwin Madia -- I sat down with him for a brief interview covering Obama vs. McCain, privacy legislation, and the meaning of the word "Progressive." Check it out
Posted at 10/06/2008 08:41:07 AM EST - #
LA-06: Can YOU Raise More Money Than Dick Cheney? (DailyKingFish)
Dick Cheney is going to Baton Rouge today to raise money for Republican hopeful Bill Cassidy.
Can YOU help raise money for a Democrat that stood with us on the bailout bill? Can YOU help raise money for a Louisianan Democrat that gets that we need to start investing in renewable energy?
Well, can you?
Posted at 10/06/2008 01:04:21 AM EST - #
TX-Sen: Rick Noriega Back in the Game (KTinTX)
It's amazing what one poll will do to regain momentum in the Texas Senate race as we hunt for a 60 seat majority.
Posted at 10/05/2008 06:56:30 PM EST - #
SD: Sarah Palin Mentor Raids Fund for Deaf People (lowkell)
This would be beyond parody...except it isn't. "Compassionate conservatism," my a**.
Posted at 10/05/2008 03:07:40 PM EST - #
NC-Sen: Top McCain official: Dole is finished (John Rohrbach)
Posted at 10/05/2008 02:20:35 PM EST - #
RACIST COMMENTS BY VIRGINIA MCCAIN OFFICIAL (notlarrysabato)
Posted at 10/05/2008 04:18:03 AM EST - #
Audio: Joe McCain Calls Arlington, VA "Communist Country" (lowkell)
My god, Joe McCain is nuttier than his brother (although probably not a bad fit for Sarah Palin?). Check this out - unbelievable.
Posted at 10/04/2008 07:17:29 PM EST - #
Twittering The L.A. Palin Rally (Todd Beeton)
It starts at 1:30pm PDT. Twittering it HERE. More info HERE.
Posted at 10/04/2008 02:31:47 PM EST - #
Louisiana Is Holding Primaries Today (DailyKingFish)
Very important primaries in LA-01, LA-02, LA-04, and LA-05, as well as a slew of local races throughout the state. Go to Daily Kingfish for a live-blog of the election returns later tonight, starting at 8 PM CST.
Posted at 10/04/2008 02:08:27 PM EST - #
NC-Gov: McCrory's Fellow Mayors Endorse Purdue (John Rohrbach)
Mayors of large NC cities, towns back Perdue. The mayors of several of North Carolina's largest cities have endorsed Democrat Beverly Perdue for governor, not fellow municipal leader Pat McCrory. Perdue's campaign announced support from the mayors of 14 towns and cities, including Raleigh, Durham, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, Asheville and Wilmington. McCrory, the Republican nominee, has been mayor of Charlotte since 1995. Asheville Mayor Terry Bellamy was quoted saying the lieutenant governor understands the issues facing the various parts of North Carolina. - WBTV
Posted at 10/03/2008 11:30:14 AM EST - #
NM-02: Cook Political Report Says It's a Tossup (fbihop)
This race is in a R+6 district. And now it's a toss-up. Read it and weep, Republicans.
Posted at 10/02/2008 09:20:42 PM EST - #
CO-SEN: Udall clobbers Schaffer in latest poll (em dash)
A statewide poll released Wednesday has presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain neck-and-neck in Colorado but shows Senate candidate Mark Udall 7 points ahead of former oil exec Bob Schaffer, including a 21-point advantage on the oil and gas-rich Western Slope. Ouch!
Posted at 10/02/2008 02:07:39 PM EST - #
New Wake Up Wal-Mart Commercial Going After McCain For Tonight's Debate (notlarrysabato)
Posted at 10/02/2008 01:59:57 PM EST - #
ID-01: Minnick Leads Sali by 6 Points (HellofaSandwich)
Yet another poll from a deeply Republican district shows the GOP on the run: Minnick 44, Sali 38.
Posted at 10/02/2008 01:31:54 PM EST - #
VA: New Radio Ad by Bluegrass Legend Ralph Stanley for Barack Obama (lowkell)
This totally rocks, except it's not rock it's bluegrass! :) Seriously, though, this is awesome...Ralph Stanley is one of the most beloved figures in southwestern Virginia and more broadly in Appalachia. And he agrees, "Barack Obama is the change we need."
Posted at 10/02/2008 01:23:33 PM EST - #
LA-01: Scalise Knows He Has A Fight (DailyKingFish)
Late last week, the Harlan campaign released a poll showing them closing a 53 point gap in July down to 11 points in late September. If the Scalise campaign thought the poll was so dubious, as their spokesman alleges, why haven't they released their own poll numbers?
Posted at 10/02/2008 12:13:17 PM EST - #
NC-08: Kissell Leads Hayes by 11 in New GQR Poll (HellofaSandwich)
Posted at 10/02/2008 11:43:34 AM EST - #
NM-Sen: Udall Posts Large Lead in SUSA Poll (fbihop)
Udall has posted another large lead in the latest poll in the New Mexico Senate race.
Things are looking good for Democrats in New Mexico this year.
Posted at 10/02/2008 05:24:33 AM EST - #
KY-Sen: McConnell screws WWII veteran (and his own campaign...) (MediaCzech)
Mitch McConnell made an attack ad last week on Lunsford's health care company, featuring a WWII veteran.
Today, the same WWII vet is in Bruce Lunsford's response ad, saying that McConnell intentionally twisted his words.
Here are the details on how monumental this mistake really is to Mitch McConnell's campaign.
Posted at 10/01/2008 11:20:38 PM EST - #
Louisiana Race Roundup (DailyKingFish)
Over in LA-04, the Republican primary has gotten incredibly nasty, thanks to front-runner John Fleming.
In LA-06, turncoat Michael Jackson continues to insist his campaign has a shot to win, despite increasing evidence that his campaign is designed to tilt the election to Republican hopeful Bill Cassidy.
Posted at 10/01/2008 05:57:10 PM EST - #
WV-PDA stops misleading college student voting ad from Repub. S.O.S. (WVaBlue)
Thanks to some quick action from members of the W.Va. chapter of Progressive Democrats of America, a local station refused to air a misleading ad from the W.Va. Secretary of State
Posted at 10/01/2008 05:16:03 PM EST - #
WSJ/NBC Produce First Poll of "New" and "Lapsed" Voters (Mike Connery)
The Wall Street Journal, NBC, and MySpace just put out a new poll looking at the interest and opinions of "new" and "lapsed" voters (voters who skipped 2004). It's a unique and interesting poll, and you can download the whole thing here.
Only problem, is that the Wall Street Journal is cherry picking data to portray young voters and Obama unfavorably. My rebuttal is here.
Posted at 10/01/2008 03:37:31 PM EST - #
LA-06: Cassidy Breaks Federal Election Law (DailyKingFish)
For someone who campaigns on "fixing Washington," you would think that they would follow the letter of the law. Apparently, that's not the case with Republican hopeful Bill Cassidy, as his campaign "forgot" to file the Pre-Primary finance report due by September 29th.
Posted at 10/01/2008 06:51:38 AM EST - #
DCCC Drops $4.6 Million in 37 Districts (HellofaSandwich)
(The NRCC? $88K.)
Posted at 09/30/2008 11:25:51 PM EST - #
MI-07: Ex-GOP Rep. Schwarz Endorses Democrat Schauer (HellofaSandwich)
This is a pretty big bombshell -- Joe Schwarz, a former GOP congressman who was defeated in the 2006 primary by wingnut Tim Walberg, just announced that he plans to endorse Democrat Mark Schauer for his old seat.
Posted at 09/30/2008 06:26:20 PM EST - #
Elizabeth Dole Pushed Banking Deregulation Days before Collapse Triggered (The Southern Dem)
Elizabeth Dole introduced legislation to reduce regulation and oversight for banks and other financial institutions 6 days prior to receiving a $2500 contribution from Bear Stearns and 9 days prior to Bear Stearn's collapse.
Posted at 09/30/2008 03:43:32 PM EST - #
GQRR Survey: Young Evangelicals Less Supportive of McCain (Mike Connery)
A new survey by GQRR shows lagging support for McCain among evangelicals under 30:
A recent survey conducted for Religion and Ethics NewsWeekly finds that young white evangelical Christians are less supportive of John McCain for president than their older counterparts. Although McCain maintains a solid winning margin among white evangelical Christians on the ballot, white evangelicals ages 18-29 are less supportive of his candidacy and express less favorable impressions of McCain than older white evangelical Christians.
Posted at 09/30/2008 03:32:00 PM EST - #
Term Limits Be Damned: Bloomberg To Run For Third Term (lipris)
Despite the fact that current law limits him to two terms as Mayor, Michael Bloomberg will announce Thursday morning that he intends to run for a third. Really.
Posted at 09/30/2008 03:14:22 PM EST - #
Tim Kaine: Best Quote EVAH About Palin Selection? (lowkell)
This totally rocks! According to Gov. Tim Kaine, a finalist for Barack Obama's running mate: "I think most people would take hiring someone for a summer job more seriously than Senator McCain took the choice of Governor Palin." Kaine has some other choice comments as well, but that's the highlight. :)
Posted at 09/30/2008 03:12:59 PM EST - #
GA-Sen: Chambliss Leads by 2 (HellofaSandwich)
SurveyUSA: Chambliss 46, Martin 44
Posted at 09/30/2008 12:19:10 PM EST - #
NC-Sen: PPP has Hagan up 8 (John Rohrbach)
Posted at 09/29/2008 07:08:21 PM EST - #
NM-Sen: Udall Explains Why He Voted Against the Bailout (fbihop)
Whether you were for the bailout or against it, it's good to see a U.S. Representative and U.S. Senate candidate explain his vote.
Posted at 09/29/2008 04:13:53 PM EST - #
LA-02: Five Days LEFT (DailyKingFish)
The primary in LA-02 was pushed back one month after Hurricane Gustav blew through Louisiana. The Daily Kingfish has a round-up on what to expect from Saturday's election.
Posted at 09/29/2008 03:55:06 PM EST - #
Obama liveblog from Colorado (em dash)
Colorado Independent is liveblogging Barack Obama's visit to a suburban Denver high school.
Posted at 09/29/2008 01:50:01 PM EST - #
Sarah Palin's Mentor...Well, THAT Explains It! (lowkell)
Just having a bit o' fun with the news that South Dakota's Republican Governor Mike Rounds was a "mentor" to Sarah Palin. Check out what Rounds might have taught her.
Posted at 09/29/2008 12:46:29 PM EST - #
MN-03: Paulsen (GOP) getting desperate with attack ad (MN Campaign Report)
Republican Erik Paulsen must have decided that Ashwin Madia's rising poll numbers were cause for concern, and made his second ad of the season a misleading attack ad against Madia. In other news, Madia is kicking tail and taking names.
Posted at 09/29/2008 09:05:10 AM EST - #
Calitics Match: End of the Quarter Fundraising Push (dday)
Calitics has decided to do a quick fundraising push for the end of the quarter. We will match all donations up to $500 for each of five state and federal candidates on our "Calitics Match" ActBlue page. That's a total $2,500 match. Charlie Brown (CA-04), Debbie Cook (CA-46), Hannah-Beth Jackson (SD-19), Alyson Huber (AD-10), Manuel Perez (AD-80)
Posted at 09/28/2008 04:35:59 PM EST - #
KY-Sen: McConnell tied at 41% (MediaCzech)
More #'s from the new Mason-Dixon poll are out now.
And what is Mitchie's classy response? He calls his opponent "egotistical and greedy". Project much? And he accuses Mason-Dixon of being a biased polling firm, joining Rasmussen in firms they've accused as such.
Posted at 09/27/2008 08:12:50 PM EST - #
VA: Live blogging Obama-Biden Rally at U. Mary Washington (lowkell)
Check out the photos and live blog here, this looks like it's going to be a great rally.
Posted at 09/27/2008 05:10:25 PM EST - #
KY-Sen: ANOTHER poll shows McConnell/Lunsford tied (MediaCzech)
Just like last week's SUSA poll, Mason-Dixon's new poll has Mitch McConnell and Bruce Lunsford in a statistical tie.
Should have the exact #'s soon...
Posted at 09/27/2008 01:48:32 PM EST - #
CA-46: Join Me At A Low Dollar Fundraiser For Debbie Cook This Sunday (Todd Beeton)
Anyone in SoCal, please join me at a house party fundraiser for Debbie Cook to support her bid to oust lazy crazy Dana Rohrabacher on Sunday in Palos Verdes. It's just $25 to come and -- oh yeah -- Debbie will be there. Details and RSVP at ActBlue. Hope to see you there.
Posted at 09/26/2008 06:03:44 PM EST - #
SD: Tim Johnson Leads by 27 Points (lowkell)
With just 39 days to go until the election, Sen. Tim Johnson holds a 27-point lead over his Republican sacrificial lamb opponent. Go Tim!
Posted at 09/26/2008 05:58:01 PM EST - #
Bush Suspending Governing to Focus on Campaigning (John Rohrbach)
As lawmakers grapple with how to pull the nation from the brink of economic disaster, it seems President Bush has committed to appear at a fundraiser for Rep. Kenny Hulshof, the Republicans' candidate for governor in Missouri. Seems a mighty strange time for the president to plan a political event, no? Or, for that matter, for a congressman to be anywhere but Washington.
Posted at 09/26/2008 02:22:44 PM EST - #
NM-01, NV-03: Heinrich, Titus Post Leads in New Polls (HellofaSandwich)
NM-01: Heinrich 48, White 42
NV-03: Titus 46, Porter 37
Posted at 09/26/2008 12:38:39 PM EST - #
Florida Speaks: Protect Our Vote! (Progress Florida)
In 24 hours, Progress Florida collected nearly 2,000 signatures of Floridians demanding Governor Crist and Secretary of State Kurt Browning ensure a fair Election on November 4th by suspending the infamous "No Match, No Vote" law and putting a stop to other dirty tricks. If you're a Floridian, sign this important petition. If you have friends in Florida, tell them about it. Crist and Browning need to know Floridians are mad as hell about any attempt to disenfranchise voters. Let's keep the momentum going!
Posted at 09/26/2008 11:42:46 AM EST - #
Tell Scott Garrett (NJ-05) To Pay His Taxes (Aaron Banks)
Fringe conservative Congressman Scott Garrett is also a corrupt tax dodger. Find out more and take action: http://garrettshrubs.com/
Posted at 09/25/2008 11:12:23 PM EST - #
OR-SEN: SurveyUSA - Merkley 44, Smith 42. Closest race in the country. (karichisholm)
The latest SurveyUSA poll has the Senate race in Oregon at Merkley 44, Smith 42. Pollster.com's combined poll analysis has it as Merkley 42.3, Smith 42.2 -- Merkley's first lead of the race.
I've compiled all the Pollster.com numbers, and ranked the races by closeness:
| Rank | Sept 22 | State | Democrat | % | Republican | % | margin |
1  | 1 | OR | Merkley | 42.3 | Smith | 42.2 | +0.10 |
| 2 | 2 | NC | Hagan | 43.1 | Dole | 42.3 | +0.80 |
| 3 | 3 | AK | Begich | 48.3 | Stevens | 45.5 | +2.80 |
| 4 | 4 | MN | Franken | 41.3 | Coleman | 45.1 | -3.80 |
| 5 | 5 | CO | M. Udall | 44.7 | Schaeffer | 39.2 | +5.50 |
5  | 8 | NH | Shaheen | 49.4 | Sununu | 43.9 | +5.50 |
7  | 6 | MS-B | Musgrove | 42.4 | Wicker | 49.6 | -7.20 |
| 8 | 7 | NJ | Lautenberg | 47.6 | Zimmer | 39.1 | +8.50 |
| 9 | 11 | KY | Lunsford | 38.8 | McConnell | 50.1 | -11.30 |
| 10 | 9 | TX | Noriega | 38.1 | Cornyn | 51.8 | -13.70 |
| 11 | 10 | NM | T. Udall | 55.1 | Pearce | 41.4 | +13.70 |
| 12 | 15 | SC | Conley | 37.8 | Graham | 52.8 | -15.00 |
| 13 | 12 | LA | Landrieu | 56.0 | Kennedy | 40.8 | +15.20 |
| 14 | 14 | GA | Martin | 36.6 | Chambliss | 52.3 | -15.70 |
| 15 | 13 | ME | Allen | 39.6 | Collins | 55.7 | -16.10 |
| 16 | 16 | IA | Harkin | 56.8 | C. Reed | 38.4 | +18.40 |
| 17 | 17 | OK | Rice | 36.3 | Inhofe | 55.2 | -18.90 |
| 18 | 24 | KS | Slattery | 36.2 | Roberts | 56.8 | -20.60 |
| 19 | 18 | ID | LaRocco | 31.8 | Risch | 52.5 | -20.70 |
| 20 | 19 | IL | Durbin | 57.6 | Sauerberg | 35.3 | +22.30 |
| 21 | 20 | NE | Kleeb | 35.4 | Johanns | 58.5 | -23.10 |
| 22 | 21 | MI | Levin | 56.2 | Hoogendyk | 32.8 | +23.40 |
| 23 | 23 | MS-A | Fleming | 33.5 | Cochran | 58.5 | -25.00 |
| 24 | 22 | VA | Warner | 57.9 | Gilmore | 32.3 | +25.60 |
| 25 | 25 | MA | Kerry | 57.0 | Beatty | 29.3 | +27.70 |
| 26 | 26 | SD | Johnson | 61.3 | Dykstra | 32.4 | +28.90 |
| 27 | 27 | TN | Tuke | 29.2 | Alexander | 59.3 | -30.10 |
| 28 | 28 | AL | Figures | 30.7 | Sessions | 60.9 | -30.20 |
| 29 | 29 | MT | Baucus | 64.0 | Kelleher | 31.0 | +33.00 |
| 30 | 30 | RI | J. Reed | 72.0 | Tingle | 20.0 | +52.00 |
Posted at 09/25/2008 03:17:17 PM EST - #
Action: Comment today on bad rule that would limit women's health care (desmoinesdem)
Midnight tonight (September 25) is the deadline to submit comments on a rule proposed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which would allow health care providers to refuse to provide care that goes against their personal beliefs. This diary contains a link to a pdf file of the relevant document from HHS and explains how it could affect women's health care, including access to birth control as well as abortion-related services. The Planned Parenthood Action Center has created a page where you can submit your comments on this proposed rule. It's easy, so please do weigh in.
Posted at 09/25/2008 12:17:33 PM EST - #
