The Wind Has Changed for Blanche Lincoln in Arkansas

March 9, 2010desertmjo

The US Senate campaign in Arkansas has changed dramatically with the entrance of Democratic Lt. Gov. Bill Halter into the race. It had appeared until the last few weeks that Senator Blanche Lincoln had only the Republican primary winner to concern herself with. A huge plus for Lincoln was twofold: 1) She would not have to expend her campaign funds in order to defeat a Democratic challenger and 2) Democratic donations were being sent her way without competition from a challenger. Even with those advantages, Lincoln was lagging behind the Republicans in the polls. (more…)

Harry Reid Not Fooling Anyone – The Polls Speak Out

March 8, 2010desertmjo

The race drawing the most national attention in 2010 is the US Senate race in Nevada, closely followed by the US Senate race in Arizona. A loss for Harry Reid will translate into a loss of one third of the Obama-Reid-Pelosi team, which will significantly impact the 2012 election cycle. A loss for John McCain would have ramifications of its own within the Republican Party.

The latest Rasmussen Reports survey of likely voters in the state finds Sue Lowden, ex-chairman of the Nevada Republican Party leading Reid 51%-38%. A Mason Dixon/Las Vegas Review-Journal survey of registered Nevada voters shows Lowden leading Reid 52%-39%. (more…)

The Tea Party Movement Has Momentum

March 5, 2010desertmjo

If the Tea Party movement is irrelevant, ineffective and out-of-touch – why does the left even bother with it? If the Tea Party movement is a small group of angry Republicans – why it is being treated as a huge threat to the liberal agenda and ideology? If the Tea Party movement is as insignificant as many liberals would like to believe – why spend the time to participate in smear campaigns against it?

The reality is the Tea Party movement has dramatically changed the political landscape of the 2010 election cycle. (more…)

Tea Party Factors Playing into the Texas Primary

March 3, 2010desertmjo

Rick Perry won the Republican nomination to continue as governor of Texas by a wide margin. To the surprise of many people, he avoided a runoff with Kay Bailey Hutchinson in the process. The final vote tally is Rick Perry with 757,461 – 51.09%, Kay Bailey Hutchinson 449,632 – 30.33% and Debra Medina 275,604 18.59%.

Perry ran an anti-Washington campaign labeling Hutchinson as a Washington insider who would bring a Washington agenda to the state of Texas. This is a message that could resound throughout primary elections in other states. (more…)

The Inherent Risk of a Third Party Candidate

March 1, 2010desertmjo

The top Republican candidates seeking to defeat Harry Reid continue to lead him by fairly wide margins, but the Las Vegas Review-Journal threw a “what-if” into the process and found that Reid could potentially make his way back into the lead if a Tea Party candidate entered the race, according to a Mason-Dixon poll conducted Feb. 22-24 for the newspaper. The conclusion had Reid leading the Republican candidate 36% – 32% with the Tea Party candidate taking 18% of the vote. It was determined that the Tea Party candidate would take 22% of the vote away from the Republican candidate (more…)