Archive for the ‘2010 Governor’ Category
December 2nd, 2010
Thomas F. Schaller, Guest Columnist
Sandwiched between the Democrats’ disappointing 2002 election cycle and their 2010 “shellacking,” the party made significant gains during the three, mid-decade intervening elections of 2004, 2006 and 2008. And nowhere were the party’s gains more impressive than in four states: Colorado, New Hampshire, Ohio and Virginia. This quartet of states has emerged as a purple […]
November 18th, 2010
Rhodes Cook, Senior Columnist
The memorable Republican victories of 1994 and 2010 are already linked as the two largest midterm landslides of the last half century. But one was not a duplicate of the other. The GOP came out of this year’s election with more seats in the House of Representatives than they did 16 years ago, but short […]
November 11th, 2010
Larry J. Sabato, Director, U.Va. Center for Politics
SENATE 37 The number of Senate races on the November ballot, the most since 1962. 2 The number of appointed U.S. senators to survive the election, Michael Bennet (D-CO) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY). The four others didn’t run: Ted Kaufman (D-DE), Roland Burris (D-IL), George LeMieux (R-FL), Carte Goodwin (D-WV). 1 The number of senators […]
November 4th, 2010
Larry J. Sabato, Director, U.Va. Center for Politics
Tuesday night marked the end of yet another successful season for the Crystal Ball, the fifth congressional election cycle in which we have offered our predictions. It was a historic night for Republicans and a sobering one for Democrats who had seen the past two election cycles go their way. Because we believe in fundamentals […]
November 1st, 2010
Larry J. Sabato and Isaac Wood, U.Va. Center for Politics
SENATE The following are the closest Senate races as of election eve: AK, CO, IL, NV, PA, WA, and WV. The Crystal Ball predicts a net gain for Republicans of 8 seats in the Senate. They must pick up 10 seats to control the majority. GOVERNOR We have decided to change our rating in only […]
October 28th, 2010
Larry J. Sabato, Director, U.Va. Center for Politics
The time has finally come in this two-year election cycle to make the final calls. Thanks to everyone who has helped us by providing background info, tips, private polls, observations, and constructive criticism. We operate on the proverbial shoestring and we’re outside the Beltway (a plus and a minus), so we can always use the […]
October 21st, 2010
Larry J. Sabato, Director, U.Va. Center for Politics
NEXT WEEK: The Crystal Ball makes its calls. We will update our overall numbers in every category, and pick a winner in each race. We’ll be right in some, wrong in others. But hey, that’s the fun of it! Join in our fun, same time, same place, October 28th. THIS WEEK: Below we list our […]
As of October 14th
October 14th, 2010
Larry J. Sabato, Director, U.Va. Center for Politics
As alert readers of the Crystal Ball will note, we have not changed our projection of +47 Republican net House seats in many weeks. We made this prediction prior to Labor Day, and we were the first to say definitively that, in our estimate, the new House would be controlled by the GOP. At the […]
October 7th, 2010
Larry J. Sabato, Director, U.Va. Center for Politics
In every election cycle there are contests that one party “should” win but does not, usually because its partisans have chosen unwisely in the party primary. These are the ones that got away, to the consternation of party leaders who want to win above all else. Before identifying these lost (or possibly lost) contests, let’s […]
Senate and Governor Ratings Changes and Check-Ups
September 30th, 2010
Larry J. Sabato, Director, U.Va. Center for Politics
For now, we are comfortable with the overall projections that we have in the Senate (+7-8 Republican seats) and for Governorships (+8 Republican seats). But that doesn’t mean all the individual contests around the country are static. We have a few ratings changes to announce, and the Crystal Ball also has other races on a […]
September 23rd, 2010
Larry J. Sabato, Director, U.Va. Center for Politics
Below we list some changes to our Senate and Governor ratings in a few key states, as well as a smattering of thoughts on a few other races of note. Next week the Crystal Ball will revisit some of our House ratings, with several significant changes in the works. Stay tuned. OHIO GOVERNOR (CHANGE: Toss-Up […]
September 16th, 2010
Larry J. Sabato, Director, U.Va. Center for Politics
Just having issued our Labor Day predictions, we’re not quite ready to call any of the remaining toss-ups or change any ratings (with one prominent exception), but we thought we’d share our current inclinations on a few of them in “nutshell” form. Colorado Senate: After a visit last week, it’s more obvious than ever that […]
The Crystal Ball's Labor Day Predictions
September 2nd, 2010
Larry J. Sabato, Director, U.Va. Center for Politics
For decades I’ve advised students to let the facts speak for themselves, while avoiding the indulgence of shouting at the facts. In other words, we should take in all the available, reliable information; process it; and let the emerging mosaic tell its story—whether the picture pleases or not. The human (and partisan) tendency to twist […]
Using the Generic Ballot to Forecast Gubernatorial Elections
August 12th, 2010
Alan I. Abramowitz, Senior Columnist
Governors are key players in the American federal system. In addition to administering complex bureaucratic organizations with vital responsibilities and multi-billion dollar budgets, they are expected to propose their own legislative programs, work closely with their state’s congressional delegation, communicate their goals to the public, and lead their state parties in elections. Moreover, in recent […]
July 22nd, 2010
Larry J. Sabato, Director, U.Va. Center for Politics
One reason why people are attracted to politics is because, like sports, there are usually clear winners and losers. Moral ambiguity and shades of gray may overwhelm other sectors of life, but not the bottom-line of elections. Only finality on November 2 really matters. Raising more money or winning a primary or seeing your opponent […]