Paul Steinhauser
But a new national poll suggests why a majority of voters didn't seem to buy that argument, as Barack Obama beat McCain in the presidential election and the Democrats made major gains in both the House, under Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and the Senate, under Majority Leader Harry Reid.
Congressional Quarterly
A handful of political groups are continuing to wage heated election battles in a couple of undecided House and Senate races, even though most of the political establishment has turned its attention to the transitions taking place at the White House and in Congress.
Washington TimesTom DeLay
OP-ED
When it comes to fundraising, organization and ground game, we Republicans got whipped.
Now, Republicans may criticize Sen. Barack Obama for breaking his promise to accept public funding and play by the established rules, but that doesn't take us too far. We shouldn't kid ourselves: Democrats breaking this precedent had nothing to do with their campaign-finance principles, and everything to do with the fact they could afford to. Mr. McCain could never have competed this fall without the federal funds and, in the end, Mr. Obama simply smothered McCain, outspending him in battleground states by three-to-one, with plenty left over to compete in even Republican-leaning areas.
For Immediate Release
5
November 2008
Contact: Kate
Snyder, 202-962-7258
The America Votes partners, over 40 of the most powerful progressive organizations in the country, led an unprecedented grassroots campaign throughout 2008 that helped achieve historic progressive gains from the White House to Congress to key gubernatorial and state legislative races and ballot initiatives.
“The America Votes partners played a vital role in achieving our historic victories in 2008. AV partners’ grassroots campaigns reached millions of targeted voters thru door knocks, mailings and phone calls,” said America Votes President Martin Frost. “The progressive organizations in the AV coalition built a foundation this year that will work to advance a progressive agenda over the next two years that will solidify and expand our majorities in 2010 and beyond.”
Wisconsin State Journal
MARK PITSCH
A Dane County circuit judge today dismissed a lawsuit by Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen to require the state elections agency to check voter registrations against other state databases dating to 2006, which critics said could have thrown hundreds of thousands of registrations into doubt.Judge Maryann Sumi said Van Hollen failed to state an adequate claim for bringing the lawsuit and noted that state law has consistently favored protecting citizens' right to vote. Sumi also said that Van Hollen did not have standing to bring the lawsuit.
New York Times
By Steven Greenhouse
In its final burst of campaigning, the A.F.L.-C.I.O. is pushing to get one of the hardest to persuade groups — retirees – to support Barack Obama for president.
“We know that in this election, unlike other elections, we need to particularly reach seniors and retirees in a way we haven’t had to reach them before,” Karen Ackerman, the labor federation’s political director, said in a telephone interview. “Many are uncertain about whether Senator Obama represents their interests. Some are uncomfortable with him.”
TPM
The Obama-backing labor federation Change to Win is about to drop some 750,000 mailers in the battlegrounds slamming John McCain and George W. Bush for having "wrecked our economy," with a fun play on the question, "how do they look themselves in the mirror?"
Washington Post
By Alec MacGillis
For all the emphasis on Sen. Barack Obama's chances with working-class voters in declining Rust Belt cities, the biggest swing vote in the presidential election is likely to be in outer suburban communities, where Democrats hope to capitalize on economic unease and demographic shifts to overturn traditional Republican strengths.
Republicans have long dominated in the fast-growing exurbs, which President Bush won by an even larger margin in 2004 than in 2000. But Democrats made inroads in these areas in the 2006 congressional elections, part of a broader trend that has seen the party gain among college-educated suburban professionals. And this year, many exurbs that grew rapidly in the past decade are being hit particularly hard by the economic downturn.
AP
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Two weeks before Election Day, Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama is busily banking every early vote he can get in key states. Republican nominee John McCain is more selectively working to lock in the early votes of his most iffy supporters, figuring the rest will make it to the polls sooner or later.
Voters in every state can now cast ballots through early voting or absentee voting programs. Results won't be released until Nov. 4, but a look at those who have voted shows the Democrats have been aggressive.