September 2007
By Eric Ostermeier on September 28, 2007
The latest round of election matchups in Minnesota among the leading presidential candidates finds Democrats leading in each scenario. Like most other states polled by SurveyUSA in mid-September, John Edwards outperforms Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama in matchups versus Rudy Giuliani, Fred Thompson, and Mitt Romney. Edwards (+51 net advantage)...
By Eric Ostermeier on September 26, 2007
7:00 p.m. Andrew Kohut of the Pew Research Center gives his second talk of the day, entitled: "They Don't Like Us: Global Attitudes Toward the U.S. and other World Powers." The Pew Global Attitudes Project began in June 2001, initially to examine globalization issues and democratization. After September 11th, however,...
By Eric Ostermeier on September 26, 2007
12:05pm. Andrew Kohut of the Pew Research Center is speaking this afternoon at the Humphrey Institute in the first of two events today. This speech is entitled, "What to Watch in the 2008 Elections." Kohut is one of the nation's leading authorities on public opinion research and he is the...
By Eric Ostermeier on September 25, 2007
Smart Politics will be live blogging at two events on Wednesday, September 26th. The Center for the Study of Politics and Governance is hosting Andrew Kohut of the Pew Research Center at the Humphrey Institute: "What to Watch in the 2008 Elections" Much of the nation's attention focuses on the...
By Eric Ostermeier on September 24, 2007
Despite the fact that most recent public polls find John Edwards trailing Hillary Clinton in Iowa's Democratic Party caucus horserace, Edwards fares the best among his chief Democratic Party rivals when matched up against the leading GOP candidates. A mid-September poll of registered voters by SurveyUSA measured all head-to-head...
By Eric Ostermeier on September 21, 2007
In an amendment passed 72-25 by the Senate on Thursday, all but two Upper Midwestern Senators voted to condemn recent attacks launched against General David Petraeus, the Commanding U.S. General in Iraq, and head of its multi-national force. The amendment was provoked by the infamous MoveOn.org print advertisement questioning Petraeus'...
By Eric Ostermeier on September 20, 2007
When Democrats narrowly won a majority in the U.S. Senate in 2006, it was expected 2008 would shape up to be a fierce battle for control of that chamber. The political reality at this moment in time, however, is that Democrats nearly have as good of a chance to win...
By Eric Ostermeier on September 18, 2007
After Republican U.S. Representative Jim Ramstad announced his retirement Monday, effective at the end of this term (his 9th), the buzz around Minnesota politics was that his open seat would produce a competitive Congressional District race—one that was ripe for the picking for the DFL. And there is data...
By Eric Ostermeier on September 17, 2007
As a recent SurveyUSA poll showed Norm Coleman's lead over both Al Franken and Mike Cerisi down to low single digits, the question emerges as to whether or not the introduction of a viable third party candidate in the race could influence the outcome. In two of the past three...
By Eric Ostermeier on September 14, 2007
Republicans Norm Coleman of Minnesota and Charles Grassley of Iowa—were the first to comment on President George W. Bush's nationally televised address on Iraq. Many pundits had speculated that one of the key audiences for Bush's speech were Republican lawmakers, especially those (like Coleman), who have been critical of...
By Eric Ostermeier on September 12, 2007
In the first LA Times / Bloomberg poll of likely Iowa caucus voters, Hillary Clinton maintains her lead over John Edwards while failing to reach the 30 percent mark; meanwhile, Mitt Romney continues to enjoy a double-digit lead over his chief rivals. The poll was conducted September 6-10 of 462...
By Eric Ostermeier on September 11, 2007
In a new poll released today by Rasmussen Reports, Republican Minnesota Senator Norm Coleman now holds 5 and 4-point leads over his chief rivals—Al Franken and Mike Ciresi respectively. The poll, conducted September 6th of 500 likely voters in the Gopher State, finds Al Franken has closed the gap from...
By Eric Ostermeier on September 7, 2007
While Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama continue their 1-2 punch in all national polls and most state polls, John Edwards consistently fares the best among the Democratic field when matched up against the leading Republican contenders. This is especially the case in key battleground states. In recent polling in Iowa...
By Eric Ostermeier on September 5, 2007
Michigan's decision to move its primary to January 15, 2008—a decision signed into law yesterday by Democratic Governor Jennifer Granholm—is sure to have a domino effect on the primary calendar, perhaps moving Iowa's caucuses up to December 2007. New Hampshire was slated to be the nation's first primary on January...
