McAuliffe loses in Virginia primary

Terry McAuliffe's gubernatorial dream is dashed as he loses to Creigh Deeds in the Democratic primary. McAuliffe's campaign was well funded and endorsed by party heavyweights such as former President Bill Clinton, and this defeat may signal the diminishing influence of the Clintons in the Democrat Party.

Deeds' victory means a rematch against Bob McDonnell (R). They both ran for state attorney general four years ago with McDonnell winning by a margin of only 323 votes.

This is one of the major 2010 races to keep an eye on.

Conservative Europe, liberal America

The votes are in: Europe is steering right as evident from this weekend's E.U. parliament election results. Whereas the United States is heading left... way left.

Tedisco leads for now

Some good news in the NY-20 special election as Jim Tedisco (R) takes a razor-thin lead of just 12 votes!

NY-20 race too close to call

The result of the first election after Obama's inauguration is still undetermined. Murphy (D) leads Tedisco (R) by just a handful of votes and now thousands of absentee ballots will come into play. This special election in the blue state of New York is viewed by many to be a gauge on the popularity of the President and his economic policies. Republicans are hoping to see an early victory before the mid-term elections come up.

Jim Tedisco FTW!

A shimmer of hope in New England for GOP

For the first time in a long time, Republicans may be able to make a dent in the Democratic stronghold of the Northeast region in 2010:

Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) is now somewhat vulnerable, no thanks to his association with the recent AIG compensation fiasco. Republican challenger former Rep. Rob Simmons can definitely put up a good fight.

New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine (D) is trailing Republican challenger Chris Christie, a former U.S. Attorney, in the latest Quinnipiac poll by nearly 10 points.

And in New York, there's going to be plenty of action. March 31 is a special election for Gillibrand's old House seat, Scott Murphy (D) vs. Jim Tedisco (R). I know that Tedisco has been gaining momentum in the blogosphere and Twitterspher!

Gov. Paterson (D-NY) may be in trouble if former NYC mayor Rudy Giuliani (R) commits to a gubernatorial campaign.

Then there are some House races worth following: Michael Arcuri (D-NY) vs. Richard Hanna (R-NY) and John Hall (D-NY) vs. Greg Ball (R-NY).

Flipping Emanuel's seat to red

The special election to fill the House seat IL-5 vacated by Rahm Emanuel is on April 7, 2009. It is Rosanna Pulido (R) vs. Mike Quigley (D). Unfortunately, the Illinois GOP isn't giving her the attention and support she deserves, so it's up to us to spread the word. Turning this seat to red would definitely rub the Democrats the wrong way, and who wouldn't want to do that?!

We wish Ms. Pulido good luck!

Jim Tedisco poised to enter House

New York Assemblyman Jim Tedisco (R) is leading in the polls against opponent Scott Murphy (D) to fill the House seat vacated by Kirsten Gillibrand. Although this doesn't affect much of the House politics, it's still a small victory for Republicans. The election is set for March 31.

For more information and to contribute to his campaign, click here.

For the last time: there is no Obama mandate

Eugene Robinson still thinks Obama has a "mandate" and even compares the electoral situation with Reagan. Obama won with 53% of popular vote against McCain's 46% -- a mere difference of 7%. Electoral votes considered, it was 365 vs. 173.

When Reagan ran for president in 1980 against Jimmy Carter, the E.V. result was 489-49. And in 1984 it was 525-13 (Mondale). Now that smelled more like a mandate!

Wake up, Mr. Robinson. There is no mandate in sight for President Obama.

Franken trying to force his way into Senate

Exactly what is Franken and his lawyer trying to pull in the pretense of serving the people of Minnesota? As much as Minnesotans deserve two U.S. senators like any other state, they also deserve one that's seated under the rule of law. First and foremost, Minnesota state law disallows issuance of an election certificate until legal matters are resolved. That means Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Secretary of State Mark Ritchie have their hands tied until the court reaches a decision. Is Franken's legal team on crack to claim that federal law supersedes state law? Last I heard America is still a republic union of 50 states, each governed in accordance with its own laws. Maybe Franken should've run in another state where only a rubber stamp is needed on an election certificate.

Move over, Messiah, make room for the Prophet Dean

For a party that attracts atheists and non-religious folks, the liberal Democrats sure have a way of deifying their leaders. Barack "The One"/"The Messiah" Obama came first, and now Ari Berman of The Nation writes about Howard "The Prophet" Dean.

Sure, DNC Chairman Dean should get credit for his 50-state strategy to regain power, first in the legislative branch, and then the executive. In 2006 under his leadership Democrats became the majority in both houses of Congress. That momentum helped Obama win the general election by capturing battleground states like Indiana, Virginia, and North Carolina, along with several western states.

However, Berman attributes the Democratic resurgence from "Bush's remarkable mishandling of the country's domestic and foreign policies" simply makes him sound like a liberal talking head. Congress turned blue because of Republican politicians leaving their conservative roots and ignoring their warnings, and the fact that these politicians enjoyed having power for so long brewed corruption. Corruption brought down the Congressional Republicans. Poor economy hurt McCain's White House bid.

Dean isn't a prophet for coming up with a winning strategy. He's just like Karl "The Architect" Rove.

Franken now likely to win MN Senate seat

Talk about twist and turns in the yet-to-be-resolved Minnesota Senate race between Norm Colman (R) and entertainer Al Franken (D). This blows my mind. Franken trailing by just single digits?! Voters now have no excuse in saying their votes don't count...

Illinois Democrats show some love to Blagojevich

This is almost unbelievable... Illinois state legislature with a Democrat majority decided not to strip the governor of his power to fill the vacant senate seat for now. The main reason? They fear that a Republican may actually win the seat in a special election.

So it's back to square one for the people of Illinois, underrepresented in the Senate with just one senator.

E. J. Dionne seems pretty sure that Obama and his aides have nothing to do with the corrupt governor. Let's hope so.

Let's focus on 2010

I share the same sentiment as Patrick Ruffini. Stop worrying about the presidential election in 2012. The focus should be transforming Congress and state legislatures in 2010, and that will eventually bear fruit for the 2012 race.