Inside Elections

2012 House Ratings (March 23, 2012)

March 23, 2012 · 2:55 PM EDT

What Could Be Next in the Race for President?

by Stuart Rothenberg March 23, 2012 · 9:35 AM EDT

Mr. Irrelevant is the term given to the last player selected in the NFL draft, a reflection of the long odds he faces in making an NFL roster. Increasingly, former Speaker Newt Gingrich (Ga.) has become the Mr. Irrelevant in the GOP race for the presidential nomination.

Gingrich won’t get out…

Nominees Chosen in Key State for Democrats

by Jessica Taylor March 21, 2012 · 12:40 PM EDT

Respect your elders? Freshman Rep. Adam Kinzinger’s gamble against long-time Rep. Don Manzullo paid off, as he pulled out a surprising victory in Republicans’ first intraparty primary of 2012.

Democrats decimated Kinzinger’s district by dividing it into eight redrawn congressional districts and…

Who Else for Vice President but Marco Rubio?

by Stuart Rothenberg March 21, 2012 · 10:00 AM EDT

No, the fight for the Republican presidential nomination is not yet over. But if and when former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney becomes his party’s standard-bearer, he’ll need to look for the right running mate to help him unify the party and breathe some excitement into the Republican ticket. In…

Redistricting’s Bottom Line

by Stuart Rothenberg March 20, 2012 · 1:58 PM EDT

Writing an analysis calculating the final result of redistricting is a little like putting a sign on your back that reads “kick me.”

No matter how methodical and dispassionate you try to be, you are forced to make plenty of subjective judgments, guaranteeing that you will be second-guessed by…

Wins, Delegates and the Long GOP Fight Ahead

by Stuart Rothenberg March 16, 2012 · 12:06 PM EDT

Driving into work on Wednesday morning, listening to parts of “Morning Joe” and “The Daily Rundown” on MSNBC on my radio, I was struck by how much I disagreed with all of the post-primary analysis.

The topic du jour, of course, was former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney’s primary losses on…

No Surprises in Alabama and Mississippi Primaries

by Jessica Taylor March 14, 2012 · 5:20 PM EDT

The supposed anti-incumbent wave that started last week in Ohio stopped on Tuesday in the heart of Dixie.

While five incumbents faced varying degrees of primary challenges in Alabama and Mississippi, each turned away their intraparty challenge with relative ease and avoided runoffs. All occupy…

Democrats Face Ideological House Primaries

by Stuart Rothenberg March 14, 2012 · 10:55 AM EDT

It’s not at all surprising, given the media’s concentration on the fight for the heart and soul of the Republican Party between tea party conservatives and the GOP’s more pragmatic conservative wing, that most journalists have completely ignored the ideological fights within the Democratic Party…

Utah Primaries: Power to the Precincts

by Nathan L. Gonzales March 9, 2012 · 2:00 PM EST

Utah’s primary isn’t for another three months, but Sen. Orrin Hatch’s electoral fate could be sealed next week.

The six-term GOP senator is trying to avoid following in the footsteps of his colleague, Bob Bennett, who not only lost reelection in 2010, but failed to make it out of his party’s…

North Carolina: Democrats Feeling Tar Heel Blue

by Jessica Taylor March 9, 2012 · 1:59 PM EST

California, Texas and Florida get the most of the attention when it comes to redistricting, but Republican efforts in North Carolina could be a key state in keeping their party in the majority.

By decreasing the Republican percentage in districts they already control, the GOP was able to…