Benning Wentworth is not a name you'll run across in New Hampshire primary coverage. But he arguably did as much as anyone else to establish the political culture -- or cultures -- of America's first-in-the-nation primary state.
With the primary process finally underway, both Republicans and Democrats are more confident that the ideological leanings of their party's eventual presidential nominee will match theirs.
Last week, we wrote that Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump are the favorites to win New Hampshire, and while there have been plenty of fireworks between then and now (Monday afternoon), our overall assessment hasn’t changed. Polling in the New Hampshire primary is often far off the mark — the electorate has a remarkably high number of late-deciders and switchers — but keep this in mind: Trump has appeared strong in New Hampshire for more than half a year. Since mid-July, he has led 72 straight polls, almost all of them showing a double-digit lead. And since early January, Sanders has led 38 straight polls, with most also showing a double-digit lead.
During this election year, we are destined to hear many words that are toxic in the way they misrepresent reality and substitute fantasies that can win votes.
Twenty-eight percent (28%) of Likely U.S. Voters think the country is heading in the right direction, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey for the week ending February 4.
Voters still don’t see President Obama or the Republican-controlled Congress as an asset to their respective party’s presidential candidate, but GOP voters are far more likely to see their party’s legislators as a burden on the party’s nominee.
With tomorrow’s New Hampshire primary a make-or-break event for several of the candidates, Donald Trump still holds a double-digit lead nationally over his rivals for the Republican presidential nomination. Senators Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio are in a virtual tie for second place.
Tuesday’s New Hampshire primary could sharply redefine the Republican race, but our polling suggests a Bernie Sanders win in the Granite State won’t remake the contest for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Last week, I handicapped the Bernie Sanders campaign. He since pulled off an upset in the Iowa Caucus, where he overcame a 40-point lead by Hillary Clinton to a virtual tie so even that coin tosses and bureaucratic incompetence may have made a difference.
And then there were two. Following a near-tie in the Iowa caucus Monday, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders went toe-to-toe last night in a debate in New Hampshire, the setting of next week’s primary. Have the dynamics of the race changed?
Now that the results of last Monday's Iowa caucuses are in, speculation naturally turns to next Tuesday's New Hampshire primary.
Will Donald Trump fail once again to receive the percentage he's getting in polls? Will Marco Rubio build on his close third-place Iowa finish to overshadow rivals Jeb Bush, John Kasich and Chris Christie, who have been rivaling him in New Hampshire polls?
Donald Trump won more votes in the Iowa caucuses than any Republican candidate in history.
Donald Trump insists his second-place showing in Monday’s Iowa caucus isn’t bad, but perception among his fellow Republicans that he will be the party’s presidential nominee has fallen sharply this week.
Voters remain pessimistic about America's future and continue to believe cutting the size of the federal government may help.
Hillary Clinton seemed receptive the other day to naming President Obama to the U.S. Supreme Court if she is elected to succeed him this fall. Most voters, however, don’t approve of putting Obama on the high court and still aren’t interested in him running for a third term as president either.
New Hampshire, as usual, will not be inclined to ratify the result of its early-state rival, Iowa. In open seat races, it’s natural for New Hampshire to zag after Iowa zigs: In the modern era of presidential nominations starting in 1972, there have been 16 contested presidential primaries (seven for the Republicans, nine for the Democrats). In only four of those races did the same candidate win both Iowa and New Hampshire: Presidents Gerald Ford (R) and Jimmy Carter (D) won the first two contests against, respectively, Ronald Reagan in 1976 and Ted Kennedy in 1980, and Al Gore and John Kerry won both while cruising to the Democratic nomination in 2000 and 2004.*
President Obama's recent executive actions on solitary confinement and the treatment of mentally ill prisoners are the latest efforts in a bipartisan push to reform the country’s prison system. While most Americans agree that too many people are incarcerated, many also feel conditions in America's prisons today aren't tough enough.
Voters remain less confident in society here at home.
After the Iowa caucus results, it looks like Hillary Clinton vs. Marco Rubio in November!
Voters strongly believe the federal government is crooked.
