Ideology
By Eric Ostermeier on October 12, 2011
National Review Senior Editor Ramesh Ponnuu will speak at the University of Minnesota's Humphrey School of Public Affairs Thursday afternoon in an event discussing the future of conservatism.
By Eric Ostermeier on February 28, 2011
Analysis of National Journal vote rankings finds record highs among female GOP Representatives for conservatism in 2010
By Eric Ostermeier on June 16, 2010
Difference between Kline's conservative vote ranking and his district's Partisan Voting Index ranking is the 2nd largest among all House Republicans; Bachmann 14th largest, Paulsen 27th
By Eric Ostermeier on May 10, 2010
Ratio of self-identified conservatives to liberals is at a five-year high in the Gopher State while charges of socialism are hurled at D.C. Democrats
By Eric Ostermeier on March 4, 2010
Analysis finds National Journal vote rankings of female GOP Representatives set record highs for conservatism in 2009
By Eric Ostermeier on March 2, 2010
Congresswoman followed up the narrowest victory for a GOP U.S. House incumbent in 2008 with the 28th most conservative voting record
By Eric Ostermeier on December 31, 2009
A brief survey of five of the top stories at Smart Politics in 2009
By Eric Ostermeier on June 22, 2009
With the DFL winning a string of 9 consecutive presidential elections, 4 out of 5 U.S. Senate contests (counting Al Franken), and netting 35 state House and 11 state Senate seats since 2002, Minnesota has been frequently characterized as an increasingly "Democratic-leaning" state. The outputs of the DFL's electoral success...
By Eric Ostermeier on June 16, 2009
Continuing to serve as a lightning rod for the political left in the Gopher State, the month of June has seen Representative Michele Bachmann maintain her remarkably high profile among not only the Minnesota Congressional delegation, but also nationally among her GOP colleagues throughout the U.S. House. Earlier this...
By Eric Ostermeier on June 9, 2009
Last Thursday the South Dakota Republican Party launched a new website called "Stop Stephanie," designed to attack 4-term At-large Democrat U.S. Representative Stephanie Herseth Sandlin. Herseth Sandlin - a virtual lock for a 5th term should she decide to run again in 2010 - is also a rumored candidate...
By Eric Ostermeier on May 28, 2009
While the last two election cycles have seen Upper Midwestern Republicans lose seats in state legislatures, lose seats to the U.S. House, and lose statewide elections for the U.S. Senate and the presidency, the conservative brand seems to be catching fire once again. A Smart Politics analysis of more than...
By Eric Ostermeier on February 23, 2009
Smart Politics recently documented a notable shift in Party ID in Minnesota favoring the Democrats in recent years, and found that this shift is more of a result of Democrats attracting independents to their corner than the Republican Party losing its base to independents. However, despite this shift in Party...
By Eric Ostermeier on December 13, 2007
While Mike Huckabee's rise to the top of the Republican polls nationwide and in key states (Iowa, South Carolina, and Michigan) appears unstoppable, this, of course, is not the nature of politics. For example, in the 2004 presidential campaign, the rise and the fall of Howard Dean's candidacy were equally...
By Eric Ostermeier on August 14, 2007
12:00 pm. Jim Ramstad's speech today is entitled "Life as a Centrist in the New Congress." Ramstad has touted his moderate, centrist credentials in recent years, and there is evidence in his voting record to bolster this claim. In 2006, the Republican congressman was rated fairly dead center -- the...
By Eric Ostermeier on August 13, 2007
Smart Politics will be blogging live covering Republican Congressman Jim Ramstad (MN-03) from the Humphrey Institute on Tuesday, August 14th, from Noon to 1:15 pm. The talk, sponsored by the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance, is entitled " "Life as a Centrist in the New Congress" and...
