Wisconsin
By Eric Ostermeier on January 24, 2007
Several U.S. Senators from the Upper Midwest have released official statements in reaction to President George W. Bush's seventh State of the Union Address from last night. Republican Charles Grassley of Iowa stated he was impressed with Bush's overall leadership and his "very ambitious agenda" to make "America energy independent...
By Eric Ostermeier on January 22, 2007
Three gubernatorial addresses conducted this month across the Upper Midwest have been remarkably similar with regards to the main issues raised in the speeches. Republican Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty's State of the State address delivered last week focused on four primary issues—better government, better energy, better health care, and better...
By Eric Ostermeier on January 11, 2007
Less than 12 hours after President George W. Bush's address to the nation revealing his new strategy for victory in Iraq—a strategy that included sending more than 21,000 new troops to the region—three Upper Midwestern senators have expressed public disapproval of the President's plan. In a press release, Junior Wisconsin...
By Eric Ostermeier on January 3, 2007
The passing of our 38th President Gerald Ford prompted Smart Politics to take a look at his 1976 presidential campaign in the Upper Midwest—and the close races he faced with Jimmy Carter that year. Richard Nixon—who had nearly swept the nation's electoral votes in 1972—made a clean sweep of the...
By Eric Ostermeier on December 15, 2006
Earlier this week House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced new Committee assignments for Freshmen members, plus added existing members to new Committees as Democrats increased their membership on Committees with their 30 seat gain in November's election. Starting his 6th term, Ron Kind (WI-03) was assigned to the influential Ways and...
By Eric Ostermeier on December 13, 2006
The reclaiming of the Wisconsin state Senate by the Democratic Party received some fanfare last month in the Badger State, but the extent of Democratic pickups in the state Senate and state Assembly is nearly unprecedented over the past half-century of Wisconsin state politics. Democrats had controlled the 33-seat state...
By Eric Ostermeier on December 11, 2006
This is an admittedly premature question to be sure—with more than one year before the first presidential primary and only a few politicians from each party officially declaring themselves as candidates for the White House. Nonetheless, in the coming months political strategists and party activists will descend on both...
By Eric Ostermeier on November 28, 2006
November's state legislative races yielded a number of very close contests across the Upper Midwest. As a result recounts have commenced in a handful of districts, including four races for Wisconsin's State Assembly where Democrats narrowed a 58-39 GOP advantage to 52-47 going into the recounts. Four recounts were ordered...
By Eric Ostermeier on November 27, 2006
The 2006 gubernatorial races in Minnesota and Wisconsin had key similarities: 1-term incumbents defending their seats with job approval rankings hovering around 50%. Pundits viewed seats in both states to be very vulnerable. Despite these similarities, the candidacies of Republican challenger Mark Green in Wisconsin and GOP incumbent Tim Pawlenty...
By Eric Ostermeier on November 22, 2006
Approval ratings for all four Upper Midwest governors rose noticeably in polls conducted by SurveyUSA directly after Election Day (November 8-11). All three incumbent governors on the ballot in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and South Dakota were victorious, and the Democrats retained control of the Iowa executive branch with Chet Culver replacing...
By Eric Ostermeier on November 8, 2006
The Democratic party scored big wins across Upper Midwest state legislatures on Tuesday night. As projected here at Smart Politics, the Democrats picked up seats in all 8 chambers and took control of three of them: the Iowa House, Wisconsin Senate, and Minnesota House. Some democratic pickups - particularly in...
By Eric Ostermeier on November 7, 2006
The last in a series of election projections, Smart Politics predicts which political party will win control of state legislatures across the Upper Midwest. Democrats are in an advantaged position in most states in each legislative chamber to pick up seats, based on the GOP needing to protect a higher...
By Eric Ostermeier on November 5, 2006
Only 1 of 9 races for federal office in the Badger state in 2006 is considered a true 'toss-up': the 8th Congressional district race. But the state does offer a high-profile gubernatorial matchup…plus all those other federal races are just full of 'fun-facts'… WI Governor: One-term incumbent Jim Doyle...
By Eric Ostermeier on October 27, 2006
Campaign attack ads seem to be replacing horserace polls as the lead stories in political news coverage, and Smart Politics is guilty of this behavior as well, at least for today. While the Bachmann-Wetterling (MN-6) race had the early lead as the most viscous in the Upper Midwest, that...
By Eric Ostermeier on October 16, 2006
A recent spate of polls tracking US House races in the Upper Midwest reflect what is perceived by most political analysts to be a nation-wide trend: GOP-held districts that were secure in 2004 now seem to be competitive or near competitive. The GOP leads the current Upper Midwest US House...
By Eric Ostermeier on October 13, 2006
The Midwest…the heartland of America…where caustic coastal cynicism has not yet taken root and a hearty optimism about life in these United States still prevails. Syrupy, true, but that description about life in the Upper Midwest sounds like it might once have been plausible. But, of course, this description simply...
By Eric Ostermeier on October 4, 2006
In the coming year or so states will begin to outline plans for the redistricting process that will go into effect in 2012 after the 2010 Census results. One way to measure the 'success' of these processes is to examine to what extent the proportion of votes cast for...
By Eric Ostermeier on September 24, 2006
In 2003, Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle vetoed a bill that sought to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman. The Republican-led legislature then initiated a constitutional amendment process (which passed 19-14 in the state Senate on a strict party-line vote and 62-31 in the state Assembly...
By Eric Ostermeier on September 17, 2006
Official results will not be released by the Wisconsin State Elections Board until September 26th, but it is unlikely any statewide or district incumbents broke a sweat last Tuesday night…with the exception of Peg Lautenschlager in her bid to remain the state's Attorney General. All three incumbent state senators were...
By Eric Ostermeier on September 12, 2006
While most interest and suspense among the public in election years is reserved for November, primaries can highlight the differences among states in the power of state legislative incumbency in deterring challenges from within one's own party. Primaries today in Minnesota and Wisconsin highlight how Minnesota's political party system is...
