Last week, I handicapped the Bernie Sanders campaign. He since pulled off an upset in the Iowa Caucus, where he overcame a 40-point lead by Hillary Clinton to a virtual tie so even that coin tosses and bureaucratic incompetence may have made a difference.
And then there were two. Following a near-tie in the Iowa caucus Monday, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders went toe-to-toe last night in a debate in New Hampshire, the setting of next week’s primary. Have the dynamics of the race changed?
Now that the results of last Monday's Iowa caucuses are in, speculation naturally turns to next Tuesday's New Hampshire primary.
Will Donald Trump fail once again to receive the percentage he's getting in polls? Will Marco Rubio build on his close third-place Iowa finish to overshadow rivals Jeb Bush, John Kasich and Chris Christie, who have been rivaling him in New Hampshire polls?
Donald Trump won more votes in the Iowa caucuses than any Republican candidate in history.
Donald Trump insists his second-place showing in Monday’s Iowa caucus isn’t bad, but perception among his fellow Republicans that he will be the party’s presidential nominee has fallen sharply this week.
Voters remain pessimistic about America's future and continue to believe cutting the size of the federal government may help.
Hillary Clinton seemed receptive the other day to naming President Obama to the U.S. Supreme Court if she is elected to succeed him this fall. Most voters, however, don’t approve of putting Obama on the high court and still aren’t interested in him running for a third term as president either.
New Hampshire, as usual, will not be inclined to ratify the result of its early-state rival, Iowa. In open seat races, it’s natural for New Hampshire to zag after Iowa zigs: In the modern era of presidential nominations starting in 1972, there have been 16 contested presidential primaries (seven for the Republicans, nine for the Democrats). In only four of those races did the same candidate win both Iowa and New Hampshire: Presidents Gerald Ford (R) and Jimmy Carter (D) won the first two contests against, respectively, Ronald Reagan in 1976 and Ted Kennedy in 1980, and Al Gore and John Kerry won both while cruising to the Democratic nomination in 2000 and 2004.*
President Obama's recent executive actions on solitary confinement and the treatment of mentally ill prisoners are the latest efforts in a bipartisan push to reform the country’s prison system. While most Americans agree that too many people are incarcerated, many also feel conditions in America's prisons today aren't tough enough.
Voters remain less confident in society here at home.
After the Iowa caucus results, it looks like Hillary Clinton vs. Marco Rubio in November!
Voters strongly believe the federal government is crooked.
Latin America's Zika virus is the latest undocumented immigrant to hit our shores, but have no fear. Self-appointed Zika Warrior Prince Charles Schumer has declared that he is here to stop it.
The World Health Organization this week officially declared a public health emergency in response to the rapidly spreading Zika virus in Latin America. While a majority of Americans show some concern about the virus, they also think the media overhypes such outbreaks.
DES MOINES — Well, that’s settled. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz will not be the 2016 Republican nominee for president.
At least not if recent history is any guide. It has been 16 years since Republican caucus-goers here have accurately picked the eventual GOP nominee for president. In other words, not once in this entire century has Iowa picked the winner for Republicans.
Whoever wins the nominations, the most successful campaigns of 2016 provide us with a clear picture of where the center of gravity is today in both parties and, hence, where America is going.
With just the first round of the presidential contest over, most voters still think the next occupant of the White House is likely to be a Republican.
Donald Trump was absent from Fox News' Republican debate Thursday night, presiding at his own event seven minutes' drive away featuring cameo appearances by the two previous Iowa Republican caucus winners exiled now to the undercard debate, Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum. But the issue Trump raised to high-decibel level at his announcement last June was front and center at the main event: immigration.
Random thoughts on the passing scene:
Will this November's presidential election come down to a choice between a felon and a pied piper?
When tracking President Obama’s job approval on a daily basis, people sometimes get so caught up in the day-to-day fluctuations that they miss the bigger picture. To look at the longer-term trends, Rasmussen Reports compiles the numbers on a full-month basis, and the results can be seen in the graphics below.
