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Tag: michigan elections 2014
Midterm Roundup: Hagan Hanging On In North Carolina

Midterm Roundup: Hagan Hanging On In North Carolina

Here are some interesting stories on the midterm campaigns that you may have missed on Monday, October 20:

• Senator Kay Hagan (D-NC) continues to lead Republican Thom Tillis by 3 percent, according to a Public Policy Polling survey released Monday. The poll marks the third consecutive month in which PPP has found Hagan ahead by 3 or 4 percent. The incumbent Democrat is up just 1.2 percent in the Real Clear Politics poll average, but she has led in nearly every public poll since the summer.

• Despite Senator Hagan’s consistent lead, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is not relenting on its expensive campaign to discredit Tillis. The group’s latest effort is a TV attack ad blasting the Republican’s “horrifying” record on women’s health.

• The National Republican Senatorial Committee may have given up on Michigan Republican Terri Lynn Land’s Senate campaign, but the Michigan GOP is still airing ads on her behalf. It’s not going well. Their latest effort, titled “Gary Peters Loan Sharknado,” is about as awful as the name suggests — and seems extremely unlikely to turn the tide of the race, which Land trails by 9 percent in the poll average.

• A new KHOU-TV/Houston Public Media poll of Texas’ gubernatorial race finds Republican Greg Abbott pulling away from Democrat Wendy Davis. Abbott is up 47 to 32 percent in the poll, and has opened up a 12.3 percent lead in the poll average. Despite Democrats’ lofty hopes, it appears that Texas isn’t ready to turn blue quite yet.

• And this seems extremely unlikely to help Senator Pat Roberts’ (R-KS) efforts to convince voters that he hasn’t lost touch with Kansas: The senator’s website features images of a field that is supposed to represent the Sunflower State — but is actually located in Ukraine.

Photo: Third Way via Flickr

Midterm Roundup: GOP Surrenders In Michigan

Midterm Roundup: GOP Surrenders In Michigan

Here are some interesting stories on the midterm campaigns that you may have missed on Tuesday, October 7:

• As Republican Senate nominee Terri Lynn Land falls further behind in Michigan, the National Republican Senatorial Committee is pulling the plug on its planned TV ad spending in the final two weeks of the campaign. The move, which will allow the NRSC to invest in more competitive races, is a tacit acknowledgement that Land no longer has a path to victory over Democrat Gary Peters.

• In Minnesota, another state where Republicans hoped to expand the Senate map, Senator Al Franken (D) has opened up an 18-point lead over GOP challenger Mike McFadden, according to a new KSTP/SurveyUSA poll. Franken now leads by 11.5 percent in the Real Clear Politics poll average, and appears to have re-election in the bag.

• Mayday PAC, the SuperPAC that hopes to limit the influence of money in politics, will spend $1 million over the next four weeks on behalf of South Dakota Senate candidate Rick Weiland (D). Two recent surveys have suggested that the race is getting tighter, although Republican Mike Rounds still leads comfortably in the poll average.

• According to three new polls, Florida Democrat Charlie Crist holds a narrow lead in his race against incumbent Republican governor Rick Scott. Crist is ahead by just 1.4 percent in the poll average.

• And this won’t help Senator Mark Pryor’s re-election campaign: The embattled Arkansas Democrat stumbled badly after being asked about the Obama administration’s response to the Ebola crisis. He has previously run ads attacking his opponent on the issue. Pryor trails by 3.7 percent in the poll average.

Photo: Jimmy Emerson, DVM via Flickr

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Midterm Roundup: Senate Control ‘On A Knife-Edge’

Midterm Roundup: Senate Control ‘On A Knife-Edge’

Here are some interesting stories on the midterm campaigns that you may have missed on Friday, October 3:

• Control of the Senate is “on a knife edge,” according to a bipartisan NPR poll conducted by Democracy Corps and Resurgent Republic. Among other notable results, the poll finds that Democratic candidates are winning the message battle, and are being helped — not hurt — by Obamacare.

• Speaking of the Affordable Care Act, Iowa Republican Joni Ernst’s fierce opposition to the law may come back to haunt her. Talking Points Memoreports that in 2012, Ernst said that she would “support legislation to nullify Obamacare and authorize state and local law enforcement to arrest federal officials attempting to implement” it. Ernst leads by 2.8 percent in the Real Clear Politics poll average.

• In light of three new polls finding Democrat Gary Peters leading Republican Terri Lynn Land by over 9 points, FiveThirtyEight’s Harry Enten declares that Michigan’s Senate race “can’t be considered competitive anymore.”

• Republican David Perdue continues to hold a narrow lead over Democrat Michelle Nunn in Georgia’s Senate race. Perdue is up 4 percent in a new Ramussen Reports poll; he leads by 3.2 percent in the poll average.

• And control of the Senate may not be decided in November. As The Wall Street Journalreports, both parties are buying television advertising time to prepare for the possibility of runoff elections in Louisiana and Georgia.

AFP Photo/Mark Wilson

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Midterm Roundup: Shaheen Pulls Away

Midterm Roundup: Shaheen Pulls Away

Here are some interesting stories on the midterm campaigns that you may have missed on Tuesday, September 30:

• Republican hopes that New Hampshire’s Senate seat could be in play appear to be on life support. According to a new American Research Group poll, Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) leads Republican challenger Scott Brown by 10 percent. Shaheen is now up by 5.8 percent in the Real Clear Politics poll average, and has led in all but one public poll of the race.

• In another state where the GOP hoped to expand the Senate map, their candidate has literally disappeared from public view. Michigan Republican Terri Lynn Land has not made a public appearance since a fundraising event last Tuesday. She currently trails the Democratic nominee, Rep. Gary Peters, by 4.7 percent in the poll average.

• Iowa holds better news for the GOP. A Public Policy Polling poll released Tuesday shows Republican Joni Ernst leading Democratic Rep. Bruce Braley in the Hawkeye State’s Senate race, 45 to 43 percent. Ernst is ahead by 2.2 percent in the poll average. If Ernst can hold on for the win, it could be fatal to Democrats’ hopes of holding the Senate.

• In New York, Republican gubernatorial candidate Rob Astorino has released one of the strangest ads of the cycle in his longshot attempt to unseat Democratic incumbent Andrew Cuomo. Cuomo is expected to win re-election in a landslide.

• And apparently it still is possible to go too far in a heated campaign: Yesterday’s attempt to fraudulently portray Senator Mark Udall (D-CO) as a 9/11 truther is backfiring on GOP opposition research PAC America Rising.

Photo: Roger H. Goun via Flickr

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