elections

Tea party groups may have lost their luster with the GOP establishment, but they're still causing headaches in the primaries. The GOP infighting is a bright spot for Democratic candidates facing a tough election season this fall.

OneVirginia2021 has a steep climb ahead of them. They're attempting to take the politics out of redistricting with a bipartisan effort to make democracy in Virginia a real thing again. We'll see if they can actually push it through a legislature who – on both ends – have used the process for their own gain.

The Democrats in both the House and Senate have finished the first quarter slightly ahead of their Republican counterparts in fundraising. This, in an election season that most pundits believe will result in a number of seats going to the right side of the aisle.

Politifact has determined that comments made earlier this month by Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker concerning public support for the anti-union Act 10 are false. During an April 1st radio interview with WISN-AM, Walker claimed that a poll taken “a few months” ago showed public support for his landmark anti-union legislation was at “70 percent or higher.” The fact checkers disgree, however, finding that the poll in question was taken in early 2012 and the results were not what the governor had claimed.

Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton was caught erasing critical comments from his Facebook account regarding the CT gubernatorial candidate's flip-flop on common sense gun control. Of course, this is the same man who whitewashed his Twitter account when he announced his run for governor.

Ex-President Jimmy Carter's grandson, Jason Carter, has had an unexpected surge in Georgia's gubernatorial race. With his Republican counterpart, Governor Nathan Deal, mired in an ethics scandal, Carter's chances are looking better than ever in the conservative deep south state.

Millionaires and billionaires are increasing their influence in federal elections, leaving political parties to play more limited roles, and raising questions about who sets the agenda in campaigns. In a handful of key Senate races, the biggest and loudest players so far are well-funded groups that don't answer to any candidate or political party. That can make it hard for voters to know who is responsible for hard-hitting TV ads and other "messaging."

Michigan's Republican Gov. Rick Snyder, who keeps mostly silent on social issues in favor of focusing on the economy, is stepping carefully on the issue of gay marriage after a judge's declaration that the state's ban is unconstitutional. His detachment is exasperating critics who say he should take more of a leadership role, even if it's an issue he would prefer go away.

New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez has set her sights on the state's unions, saying at a real estate developers' convention that she would like to pass legislation forbidding unions from extracting dues from members' paychecks (a mainstay of so-called 'right-to-work' laws). Unions have called this "a declaration of war."

Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn and wealthy Republican businessman Bruce Rauner won their primary races Tuesday, setting up what's expected to be one the hardest fought and most expensive races in the nation.