Browsed by
Author: Editor

Could the Senate races in key swing states be telling us Trump will lose bigly?

Could the Senate races in key swing states be telling us Trump will lose bigly?

A piece earlier this week in The Hill by Merrill Matthews made for interesting reading. In a nutshell, Dems are polling really well in key swing states when it comes to the Senate races. And yet when it comes to Trump vs Harris it is basically neck and neck in these states. Here are the respective RCP averages: For Senate: Arizona – Gallego (Dem): +7.3 Nevada – Rosen (Dem): +10.7 Michigan – Slotkin (Dem): +4.8 Penn – Casey (Dem): +3.0…

Read More Read More

State of the Union

State of the Union

Welcome to the first in a strictly limited series. Every Monday [1] for the next 9 weeks, I’ll be doing a rundown of the forecasts from the main poll aggregators and analysts [2] for the 2024 US elections. Hopefully this will be useful as a baseline and a reference point for everyone. Of the forecasts included:a) electoral-vote.com and Real Clear Politics are basically poll averages; RCP is included because it’s well known and often quoted, although there are very well…

Read More Read More

A wobbly outcome: when voting systems attack

A wobbly outcome: when voting systems attack

(For the purposes of this article, I’m only looking at constituencies in Great Britain. Sorry, Northern Ireland, but your politics are a rule unto themselves. Plus – we’re primarily concerned about who can win control of the UK-wide Government). Since the election, we’ve heard a lot about how Labour’s support is “a mile wide and an inch deep.” We’ve also heard about how precarious is the Tory position; there is plenty of possibility for them to fall further. We’re all…

Read More Read More

Could Trump be made president by the House of Representatives?

Could Trump be made president by the House of Representatives?

It’s late on 6th November 2024. CNN’s election map guru, John King, has finally filled in the slowest counting counties in the crucial swing states. The result is in… …And neither Trump nor Harris has an electoral college majority. Both main party candidates have failed to secure the magic 270 delegates required either because it is a tie at 269 a piece or because a third party candidate has secured a decent result. So, what happens now? On 9th February…

Read More Read More

What if it’s not close ?

What if it’s not close ?

Cards on the table, I think Kamala Harris will be the next President of the United States. At the end of the Democratic National Convention, it’s apparent that the handover of the baton from Biden to Harris has gone more smoothly than anyone predicted, or had a right to expect. A party, more used to thinking of itself as a fractious coalition, is waking up to headlines which declare “Democrats in Array”, and is evidently enjoying the experience. And Harris…

Read More Read More

Will the Ayatollahs decide the US election?

Will the Ayatollahs decide the US election?

The smart money seems to be moving to Kamala Harris as she rides a wave of Democratic party enthusiasm and her polling shows an edge in key swing states. Although one should always remember the old adage that no ordinary voter switches on to the candidates before Labor Day, there’s a feeling building that this may well be Trump’s last stand. A successful convention this week and a big speech by the Vice President may further secure the polls. Seems…

Read More Read More

Aborting Trump

Aborting Trump

One factor that may complicate swing in key states this year is the number of abortion ballots that are going on. For good or ill, the Dobbs v Jackson ruling by the Supreme Court has made this into a very significant political battleground. We have some evidence that this is not to the advantage of Republicans. In 2022 six states had abortion related constitutional referendums: California, Michigan, and Vermont to guarantee the right to an abortion; Kansas and Kentucky to…

Read More Read More

The power of imagery.

The power of imagery.

The Trump campaign has a great deal of thanks to give to Evan Vucci. For it is he that has taken what will be the defining photo of the 2024 US election. Whether you like it or not, the picture is not dissimilar to that most iconic of American photos – the flag raising atop Mount Suribachi during the final stages of the Pacific War (Iwo Jima). This I believe will resonate particularly with older voters and strengthens Trump’s (Although…

Read More Read More