Election season’s not quite over. We have two high-profile runoffs, one for Georgia Secretary of State and one for Mississippi U.S. Senate. In both cases, no candidate reached 50%, as required by state law there. Both races are highly consequential. Therefore the thermometer at left has been updated. The Georgia Secretary of State race goes […]
Entries from November 24th, 2018
Optimal Donations, 2018 (Runoff Edition)
November 24th, 2018, 8:42am by Sam Wang
Tags: 2018 Election · 2020 Election · Senate
Happy Thanksgiving!
November 22nd, 2018, 12:42pm by Sam Wang
Dear readers, pardon the slowed rate of posting. We’re not going back into hibernation – we’re just resting. More is coming soon! Traffic was substantially down this year compared with 2016 – by more than a factor of 10. That’s understandable for a variety of reasons, including our lighter posting regimen and the consequences of […]
Tags: Redistricting
Just Lines – a podcast about redistricting!
November 10th, 2018, 1:32am by Sam Wang
Nancy Palus, a freelance journalist with an impressive record covering democracy in developing countries, has decided to focus on elections in the United States. The result is Just Lines, a podcast with some pretty good guests so far – Katie Fahey of Voters Not Politicians, and redistricting guru Justin Levitt. I joined her before Proposal […]
Tags: Redistricting
Politics & Polls #114 – Valerie Jarrett
November 8th, 2018, 11:42pm by Sam Wang
Julian Zelizer and I talked with Valerie Jarrett the day after the election. Jarrett was President Barack Obama’s longest-serving policy adviser. She gave her take on political races in Texas, Georgia, and Florida. She also talked about what it was like to do a cameo on The Good Wife, and what it takes to succeed […]
Tags: 2018 Election
Electoral maps based on 2018 results
November 7th, 2018, 12:28pm by Sam Wang
(revised Friday November 9th to correct an error in Maine Senate) The election turned out approximately as expected from advance information, a narrowly-Democratic House and a Republican Senate. I thought it might be good to look at the results from the perspective of 2020.
Tags: 2018 Election · House · Senate
The Princeton Gerrymandering Project is hiring!
November 7th, 2018, 8:25am by Sam Wang
I think there are lots of data/politics people who might have a little more free time as of today. So… Do you love democracy? Are you a data person? Hate gerrymandering? Want to help level the playing field for all citizens? The Princeton Gerrymandering Project needs you! We are planning OpenPrecincts, a project to provide […]
Tags: Princeton · Redistricting
Following the returns, 2018
November 6th, 2018, 7:53pm by Sam Wang
Tonight’s liveblogging: A mixed scoreboard for redistricting reform. WINSPA: courts redrew House mapMI, CO, MO: voter initiativesWI: Evers introduces split controlNC: state Supreme Court to act as check LOSSESFL: under DeSantis, single-party control, no court checkGA: if Kemp wins, the same — Sam Wang (@SamWangPhD) November 7, 2018 1:52am: The gubernatorial races in Wisconsin and […]
Tags: 2018 Election · House
What you’re voting for today
November 6th, 2018, 8:22am by Sam Wang
You’re voting, right? Check your poll location and closing time. And you donated [PEC’s high-leverage picks] [NRSC]. And now, on Election Day, three cheers to those of you who are getting out the vote. Good luck – your country needs you! In addition to the House (final snapshot here) and Senate (final snapshot here, post-Kavanaugh […]
Tags: 2018 Election · House · Senate · U.S. Institutions
In late Senate polls, a small signal – or noise?
November 5th, 2018, 8:56pm by Sam Wang
I assume you’ve all been getting out the vote. And donating to one of the organizations in the left sidebar. Maybe you’ve even voted already! OK, now let us take stock of late-breaking developments, which are a little unexpected. All season I’ve thought that Beto O’Rourke (D-TX) wouldn’t come close to unseating Senator Ted Cruz […]
Tags: 2018 Election · Senate
House Outlook: Streams Converge
November 5th, 2018, 2:00pm by Sam Wang
As has been the case for months, Democrats are still favored to win the House. But measured in terms of national popular vote, they are only 2 or 3 percentage points above threshold to do so. That’s pretty close…and all of them touch the threshold for control by either side. What makes everyone think the […]
Tags: 2018 Election · House
