With about 20 days to go, is there any way Republicans can save themselves from a wipeout? Would you bet money on any of it? National Review Online organzied a symposium with election experts to discuss prospects for the 2006 midterms.
Visiting Scholar Gerard Alexander
The problem at this stage is that we don’t know how well campaign advertising really works or how good each side’s get-out-the-vote will be.
But I do know that if I could turn the clock back a few months, I’d trade those “technical” things for getting on the right side of the best issues and making sure that those issues are front and center in voters’ minds. It’s too late, though, for the Republicans to become more fiscally responsible, put more good judges up for votes, and deal decisively with illegal immigration. So the next best option is to use the remaining weeks and days to make this a choice between the parties and not a referendum on the GOP alone--to focus voters on the Democrats’ weaknesses on national security, judges, and the economy. The best things the GOP has going for it is that despite all its disappointments, the Democrats actually pull off being worse. That has to be conversation topic number 1, 2, and 3 every day left. I’d bet money on some candidates doing that, but none on the media covering it aggressively.
AEI's Election Watch series returns in December 2007 for its fourteenth season, bringing together AEI's nationally renowned team of political analysts and other commentators. These sessions are essential for anyone who wants to understand the elections.
Public Opinion Snapshot - Who Will Win?
Regardless of who you support, and trying to be as objective as possible, who do you think will win the election in November . . . ? (October)
The Future of Red, Blue, and Purple America is a joint project of the American Enterprise Institute and Brookings Institution that focuses on the impact of demographic and geographic change on the 2008 elections and beyond. Selected papers from the upcoming Brookings Institution Press book and presentations as well as audio, video, and summary files from the conference held at AEI on February 28 are available here.
AEI and Brookings have launched the Election Reform Project. The program is a joint effort to monitor the implementation of the Help America Vote Act and to develop a bipartisan policy agenda for further improvements in the administration of elections.
