NJ Topics Electoral Map

Jay Dardenne

Dardenne Kicks Off Fundraising Tour

Sarah Mimms | May 17, 2013
Don't think it's a done deal that Sen. David Vitter will be Louisiana's next governor; he still has to get through Lieutenant Gov. Jay Dardenne. And Dardenne is making moves to show he's ready for a fight. Dardenne is crisscrossing the state raising money for a likely gubernatorial bid, according t...
naturization ceremony

Immigration Will Soon be the Biggest Population Driver—For the First Time Since 1850

Niraj Chokshi | May 15, 2013
Some time in the roughly next 15 to 25 years, immigration will become the primary driver of U.S. population growth, overtaking “natural” increases for the first time in nearly 200 years.

National Journal’s Hotline Gets an Upgrade and Redesign

May 14, 2013
National Journal has fully redesigned The Hotlinewith a brand new look, a user-friendly interface, and powerful political tracking tools. Subscribers will continue to enjoy The Hotline editors' irreverent and comprehensive look at political developments from across the country, presented alongside campaign news links from around the web, race-by-race polling data and demographic metrics in partnership with OhMyGov, a media monitoring and political analysis research firm.  
dollar bill

Heading Off the Coming Retirement Disaster

Sophie Quinton | May 9, 2013
Half of Californians are on track to retire in or near poverty. The state's new retirement plan model could change that.
Unemployment

Why No One’s Winning in Washington

Ronald Brownstein | May 2, 2013
Republicans needed to move to the center. The Democrats needed to fix the economy. Oh well.
Accompanied by health care professionals, President Obama speaks about health care

Obama's Legacy: A Health Care Law That Hurts His Party

Josh Kraushaar | May 2, 2013
Like the Iraq war tarnished the Republican brand, ObamaCare could be a long-term political millstone for Democrats.
Early Voting In Ohio

The Democratic Comeback To Voter ID

Reid Wilson | May 2, 2013
In Colorado, Democrats looking to liberalize voting laws to their advantage.
Lindsey Graham

Why Lindsey Graham's Support for Immigration Reform Isn't Popular in South Carolina

Beth Reinhard | May 2, 2013
The Republican senator is still in solid position for reelection, but he has reason to worry.
Scott Holcomb

Holcomb Considering Ga. Senate, Gubernatorial Bids

Sarah Mimms | May 1, 2013
Georgia state Rep. Scott Holcomb says he is considering running for his state's open Senate seat in 2014, even as the Peach State's Democratic Party brass tries to narrow down the field to a single candidate. "It's fair to say that I'm thinking about it, and that's largely a function of many people...
Terry McAuliffe and Ken Cuccinelli

Virginia Governor's Race Overshadowed By Scandal

Michael Catalini | April 30, 2013
Ken Cuccinelli and Terry McAuliffe's ties to controversial companies have become fodder for attacks.
Obama

The 1 Chart That Could Sever Obama's Coalition

Ronald Brownstein | April 25, 2013
Continuing economic dissatisfaction could dissolve the powerful electoral coalition that powered both of President Obama's victories.
ap

Mark Pryor May Soon Have A Bloomberg Problem

Ron Fournier | April 23, 2013
Mayors Against Illegal Guns mulls months-long campaign against Democratic senator.
Mark Sanford voting

VoteVets Adds to TV Onslaught Against Mark Sanford

Sarah Mimms | April 22, 2013
VoteVets Action Fund released a new television spot targeting former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford on Monday, adding to the Democratic onslaught against the Republican nominee, just two weeks before the special election in the state's 1st Congressional District. While recent ads by other Democ...
Weiner Resigns

Another NYC Mayoral Poll Shows Weiner in Second Place

Steven Shepard | April 19, 2013
A second poll this week confirms that disgraced former Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y., would start this September's Democratic primary for New York City mayor in second place, but Weiner would begin the race with higher negatives than his potential opponents. The new Quinnipiac University poll shows C...
Boston Marathon Runner

The Boston Bombings Could Help a State Get Beyond Its Liberal Stereotype

Jill Lawrence | April 18, 2013
Massachusetts really did invent America, so stop making fun of it.
NRA Protest

Why the Senate Vote May Signal 2016 Problems for the Gun Lobby

Ronald Brownstein and Stephanie Czekalinski contributed | April 18, 2013
The outcome of Wednesday’s dramatic Senate vote on expanding background checks simultaneously demonstrated the difficult geography confronting gun-control advocates in the Senate and the potentially daunting math facing gun-rights proponents in the Electoral College.
Mark Sanford voting

Mark Sanford Wins S.C. Runoff, but Colbert Busch Still Blocks His Path to Redemption

Sarah Mimms | April 2, 2013
The former governor outraised Bostic more than 15-1 in the pre-runoff period and had represented the district in the 1990s.
Bill Cassidy

Bill Cassidy Will Challenge Mary Landrieu

Sarah Mimms | April 2, 2013
Republican Rep. Bill Cassidy will announce in a web video Wednesday that he plans to challenge Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., in 2014, according to a source close to his campaign. Cassidy becomes the first Republican to enter the contest against Landrieu, who is near the top of her party's list of vuln...
Mark Sanford

GOP Runoff in South Carolina Is Mark Sanford's to Lose

Sarah Mimms | April 1, 2013
Former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford faces another potential speed bump on his road to redemption when voters choose between him and Curtis Bostic on Tuesday for the Republican nomination in the state's 1st Congressional District.
Nikki Haley

Democrats Spy Opportunities in Ruby-Red South Carolina

Beth Reinhard | April 1, 2013
Sanford's and Haley's vulnerabilities hearten Democrats in typically hostile political territory.
Beer Brewer

Will Alabama Finally Let Its Citizens Brew Their Own Beer?

Ben Terris | March 28, 2013
Home-brewing is legal in 49 states. Alabama may soon join the fun.
John Boehner, Eric Cantor

A Republican Divide in Sharp Relief

Reid Wilson | March 21, 2013
There's a growing split between the party's elites, based in D.C. and New York, and the increasingly vocal grassroots.
immigrant salon owner

How Immigrants Forestall Death of More Than 1 in 3 U.S. Counties

Jody Brannon | March 15, 2013
America hasn’t seen such dismal census numbers on population shifts since the days of newsreels, dust bowls, and the mother of all depressions.
113th Congress

Map: Compare the Diverse 113th Congress With a Diversifying U.S. Population

Doris Nhan | March 15, 2013
Use this interactive tool to explore the difference between minority representation in the 113th Congress and minority populations across the U.S.
Bill Flores, Scott Garrett

The Rightward March of the Republicans

Ronald Brownstein | March 14, 2013
Republicans in Congress were supposed to moderate their message. It's not happening.
Ken Cuccinelli

At CPAC, Ken Cuccinelli Moves to the Center

Beth Reinhard | March 14, 2013
Virginia's Republican candidate for governor tacks to the middle in speech to conservative activists.
POTD313

Play of the Day: Of Popes and Drones

Ross Gianfortune and Government Executive | March 13, 2013
Fast forward to 2:25 to see Leno explain how new TSA restrictions apply to certain passengers.
New York Archbishop Cardinal Timothy Dolan

Examine the Papabili by Race and Odds Are the Next Pontiff Is White

Jody Brannon | March 12, 2013
Nationality aside, of the 25 cardinals listed by at least one news organization as having a chance of becoming the next pontiff, there are 16 whites (including two U.S. cardinals), four blacks, three Latinos, and two Asians.
Francis

Rebuilding Trust: What Do Pope Francis and President Obama Have in Common?

Ron Fournier | March 11, 2013
From the Vatican to Washington, what can we do about the failure of powerful institutions?
Risk

How Republicans Can Win the Senate

Alex Roarty | March 7, 2013
Right-wing candidates can take the red states, but in 2014 that won't be enough.
US Racial Demographics Map

Map: Compare Racial Demographics by State With U.S. Figures

Doris Nhan | March 7, 2013
Interactive charts comparing U.S. racial demographics with those of individual states.
Joe Garcia, Florida District 26

What's in a Surname? A Lot of Demographic Change

Jody Brannon | March 5, 2013
The 2000 census shows five Hispanic last names among the top 20 most common surnames in the United States.
San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro

Can Texas Turn Blue? 'The GOP in Texas is Spoiled.'

Sophie Quinton | March 4, 2013
San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro talks about the economic turnaround in his city--and the emerging political changes in Texas.
Mitt Romney

Mitt Romney Isn't Done Proving Why He's Not President

Josh Kraushaar | March 4, 2013
One silver lining for Republicans: The GOP’s presidential nominee in 2016 will be much more politically savvy.
Sandy Potomac river flooding

Can Climate-Change Denier Ken Cuccinelli Win a Swing State?

Coral Davenport | March 3, 2013
In storm-battered Virginia, the Republican candidate for governor still doubts the science.
McConnell Boehner

How the House Holds the Senate GOP Hostage

Alex Roarty | March 3, 2013
Upper-chamber Republicans prefer a more circumspect approach, but they are increasingly defined by their hard-line House counterparts.
Morning Vid: Bloomberg Won't Run For President, 'Period'

Why Michael Bloomberg Won't Be Able to Reshape Congress

Alex Brown | February 27, 2013
Why Michael Bloomberg's ability to elect a gun control-supporting Democrat in Chicago is unlikely to translate for the 2014 midterms.
unemployment outlook

Unemployment Rate for Hispanics Tops 17% in 5 States

Jody Brannon | February 26, 2013
The Hispanic unemployment rate at the end of 2012 in 13 states significantly exceeded the state rate, with the percentage of jobless Hispanics surpassing 17 percent in five states.
LaHood sequester

Coming to A State Near You: Big Spending Cuts

Nancy Cook | February 24, 2013
The White House is trying to raise pressure on Congress to cancel automatic spending cuts by releasing the most detailed accounting to date of how the reductions would hit in the 50 states. The cuts, known as the sequester, are scheduled to take effect on Friday.
Border Protection Drones

6 Questions to Pose to Immigration Reformers

Matthew Cooper | February 21, 2013
With Congress still trying to hammer out an immigration reform bill, here are six questions worth thinking about:
Border Protection Drones

6 Questions for the Immigration Reformers

Matthew Cooper | February 21, 2013
From border security to H1-B visas, much needs to be answered in the looming immigration debate.
thumb for delegation

Which States Sent the Most Liberal Members to Congress?

February 21, 2013
The vast majority of the most-liberal state delegations in the House of Representatives are clustered in the Northeast and out West, according to 2012 vote rankings compiled by National Journal.

Poll: Brown's Approval Rating Soars in Calif.

Steven Shepard | February 20, 2013
A majority of California voters approve of the job Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown is doing for the first time since he resumed the governorship in 2011, a new poll released Thursday shows. Brown's approval rating in the latest Field Poll is 57 percent, markedly higher than the 46 percent of voters who...
Obama firm

Debating the Future of the Two-Party System

Ron Fournier | February 19, 2013
For all of its advantages, the status quo is a bad bet. Responding to a reader's defense of the two-party system.
President Obama at Bowling Green State University

Courting the Twenty-Somethings

Ronald Brownstein | February 14, 2013
In many ways, the president steered his party toward issues that matter to that growing generation.

N.C. Labor Commissioner Considering Run Against Hagan

Sarah Mimms | February 13, 2013
North Carolina Labor Commissioner Cherie Berry is considering a run against Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan in 2014. "I've been encouraged by quite a few people to look at this opportunity. I owe it to them and myself to at least consider my options. This means talking to my family and key supporters. An...
GOP Hispanic

¿GOP en Español? Not So Fast

Ben Terris | February 11, 2013
While the House Republican Conference tries to court some voters in Spanish, some of their own are fighting the effort.
Barack Obama

There’s No Such Thing as Political Capital

Michael Hirsh | February 7, 2013
The idea of political capital—or mandates, or momentum—is so poorly defined that presidents and pundits often get it wrong. With Obama’s State of the Union upon us, it’s time to rethink the term.
Super Bowl power

Louisiana, the Super Bowl of Politics

Michael Catalini | February 4, 2013
New Orleans was the center of the football world Sunday night, hosting its first Super Bowl since Hurricane Katrina devastated the city.  But it also provided a platform for a series of ambitious Louisiana politicians — Gov. Bobby Jindal and New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu — to showcase their governing aptitude in preparation for bigger campaigns ahead.
Yes We Can Obama Rally Grant Park

With New Support Base, Obama Doesn't Need Right-Leaning Whites Anymore

Ronald Brownstein | February 1, 2013
For decades, Democrats shaped their policies around fears of the culturally conservative white voters to the GOP. But Obama’s winning coalition has altered that calculus.
Barack Obama

Why Obama Is Giving Up on Right-Leaning Whites

Ronald Brownstein | January 31, 2013
For decades, Democrats shaped their policies around fears of losing right-leaning white voters to the GOP. But Obama’s winning coalition has altered that calculus.
Walker

Midwestern GOP Governors Say No to Electoral College Changes

Alex Brown | January 30, 2013
As if reading from the same cue cards, the Rust Belt's Republican governors issued near-simultaneous denials Tuesday that they would seek to implement proposals apportioning their states' electoral votes by congressional district in future presidential elections. For Republican Govs. Rick Snyder of...
arizona-mexico border

Crime and Punishment

Major Garrett | January 30, 2013
The Senate’s main struggle with immigration reform will be making the punishment fit the crime.
Obama greets supporters at a campaign event

Opinion: Obama’s Electoral Coalition Is Now His Policy Coalition

Morley Winograd and Michael D. Hais | January 24, 2013
As demonstrated in the exit polls and rehashed in countless articles since the election, Barack Obama’s decisive reelection victory was a triumph for a still-emerging, majority Democratic Obama coalition, which we said in a pair of preelection Next America articles would define a new civic ethos, or consensus on the role of government, for the nation.
Harry Reid

Democrats May Be Their Own Worst Enemy on Guns

Alex Roarty | January 17, 2013
A bloc of Democratic senators could be President Obama’s biggest threat in passing stronger gun-control laws.
Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, D-Arizona

Exclusive: GOP Targets Seven House Democrats It Calls Vulnerable

Alex Roarty | January 15, 2013
Vowing to expand their majority, House Republicans have identified seven Democrats they consider top targets for the midterm elections, according to a National Republican Congressional Committee memo obtained by National Journal.
Huntsman and Manchin

Talkin' About Revolution: 6 Reasons Why the Two-Party System May Become Obsolete

Ron Fournier | January 14, 2013
"No Labels" is a symptom of public's hunger for change, if not the final solution.
Gateway Mine

The Shift Of King Coal

Reid Wilson | January 14, 2013
The coal industry still dominates in Appalachia, and that's becoming very bad news for the Democratic party.
Cory Booker

Cory Booker for Senate Files With FEC

Elahe Izadi | January 11, 2013
Newark Mayor Cory Booker hasn’t officially thrown his hat into the ring for a Senate seat, but he is getting closer.
Mount Rushmore

5 Reasons Why Obama Isn't Ready for Rushmore

Ron Fournier | January 11, 2013
While president's legacy includes "game-changers" like health care, Obama has yet to close the gap between good and great.
Congress

It's Not Just Partisanship That Divides Congress

Ronald Brownstein and Scott Bland | January 10, 2013
The same demographic trends that helped Republicans keep the House will hurt their shot at the presidency. And the trends that propelled Obama to reelection will impede Democrats from retaking the House. 
Childhood Poverty Threatens California’s Economic Prosperity

Childhood Poverty Threatens California’s Economic Prosperity

Rosa Ramirez | January 8, 2013
The increasing number of California's Latino youth growing up in poverty threatens the long-term economic prosperity of the state with perhaps the nation’s largest economy, a new report indicates.
Galup

Why the Election Polls Missed the Mark

Steven Shepard | December 26, 2012
In the days following an election in which his organization's polls proved to be inaccurate, Gallup Editor in Chief Frank Newport published a blog post warning of "a collective mess."
Blacks Statistic

Blacks: U.S. Demographic Snapshot

Doris Nhan | May 16, 2012
The handy demographic snapshot on the African-American community in the United States.

Asians: U.S. Demographic Snapshot

Doris Nhan | May 9, 2012
The handy demographic snapshot on the Asian-American community in the United States.
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