Politics

The day after Democrats lost control of the House of Representatives in the 2010 midterms, President Barack Obama took to the podium in the White House East Room and acknowledged that he and his party had just taken a “shellacking.” So even though he declined to characterize Tuesday’s GOP Senate takeover at his Wednesday postmortem,…

With midterm hangover setting in, many will chatter and finger-point into next month about what happened, who did what and why. And at the center of it will be questions about the black vote. In crucial Senate and gubernatorial races where the black vote was needed most—Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, North Carolina—Democrats faced…

The Republican Party’s takeover of the U.S. Senate in Tuesday’s midterm election is the tip of the rather sizable iceberg that saw the GOP win governorships in the blue states of Illinois, Maryland and Massachusetts. As the losses for Democrats mounted during election night, any number of pundits questioned the Democratic Party’s Obama Avoidance Syndrome.…

To hear the pundits tell it, the reason Democrats took a big hit in Tuesday night’s midterm elections was the sinking popularity of President Barack Obama. And certainly, he’s not riding as high in the polls as he was a few years ago. But whatever the political challenges that Obama and Democrats faced in 2014—the…

Political observers called it months ago, but Tuesday’s midterm elections made it official: The Republicans have captured control of the U.S. Senate. And even though this outcome was predicted, the actual numbers are making it that much more impactful. According to a CNN report, Republican candidates across the nation won seven Senate seats that were…

In 2000, Gen. Colin Powell was elected president of the United States. He rode into office on high favorability ratings resulting from his successful stint as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. His core conviction was best captured in his 1996 Republican National Convention speech, in which he proclaimed that a united America…

President Barack Obama came out of hiding Sunday and campaigned for Democratic candidates in Connecticut and Pennsylvania. He’s calling these midterm elections his last official campaign—which has probably been a bittersweet experience, seeing as how so many Democrats have tried to distance themselves from the unpopular president in the past few months. “In tight races…

This Election Day, the potential impact of African-American voters is making headlines. The New York Times and The Nation recently reported that mobilizing black voters is the key to winning. And the data from 2008, 2010 and 2012 are clear: When black Americans vote, we determine elections. One voting bloc that will hold considerable sway…

Too many of us think that since the president isn’t on the ballot in 2014, Tuesday’s midterm election doesn’t matter. But it’s time to get rid of this misconception for the last time. Pollsters and prognosticators are speculating that African Americans won’t turn out, but this election has more at stake than the election of…

Black women went to the polls in record numbers in 2012, registering and voting at a higher rate than any other group of voters. In 2014 they’ve set another record: More black women are making bids for national and statewide elected office this year than ever before. According to a recent analysis, 30 black women…