Outside the Beltway

One moment at a campaign rally in October 2008 defines better than anything else what American politics lost when John McCain passed away.

Recently indicted Congressman Duncan Hunter Jr. is blaming his apparently estranged wife and the so-called “Deep State” for the fact that he’s charged with embezzling a quarter million dollars from his campaign.

Republican candidate Troy Balderson was declared the winner of a Special Election in suburban Central Ohio, but the fact the race was even close should worry Republicans nationwide.

Sad news about a Senate stalwart who has been fighting an aggressive form of cancer for more than a year.

New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez continues to lead in the polls, but his lead is far from secure.

A new poll shows Ted Cruz in a much tighter than expected race for re-election, but it’s going to take more to consider Texas a state that Democrats could pick up in the fall.

Judge Brett Kavanaugh reportedly told Senator Susan Collins that he considers Roe v. Wade
“settled law.” This will likely be enough to get her support and that of another holdout Republican Senator.

California Republican Duncan Hunter Jr, who was an early backer of President Trump’s campaign, has been indicted on charges he used massive amounts of campaign funds to pay for personal expenses.

Gary Johnson was a successful two-term Governor in New Mexico. Now he’s making a bid to represent the Land of Enchantment in the U.S. Senate.

New Generic Congressional Ballot polls have good news for Democrats.

Recent reports have indicated that doubts are growing about the wisdom of keeping California Democrat Nancy Pelosi at the top of House Leadership.

A new government report indicates that President Trump’s border wall will cost billions more than initially projected. And Mexico still isn’t going to pay for it.

Just days after being indicted on insider trading charges, New York Congressman Chris Collins is suspending his campaign for re-election.

The legal fight over DACA could end up posing problems for Republicans in November.

A new study claims voter ID laws may disenfranchise the demographic, potentially swinging several Congressional races.

Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination appears to be on track for confirmation before the new Supreme Court term begins in October.

Tuesday’s election results were a defeat for the progressive effort to remake the Democratic Party in their image.

Nominating Corey Stewart is beginning to look like the biggest mistake Virginia Republicans have ever made.

The Republican Party’s nominee for Senator in Virginia really is as bad as you’ve heard, probably worse.

Another milestone set to be crossed.

New York Congressman Chris Collins, who was the first Congressman to endorse President Trump, has been indicted for what amounts to one of the dumber and most obvious cases of securities fraud ever seen.

Republican Troy Balderson holds a narrow lead in a Special Election in Ohio. Even if he wins, though, the way this election played out does not bode well for the GOP in November.

A Special Election tomorrow in suburban Columbus, Ohio could tell us a lot about where the midterm elections might be headed.

The Texas Senate race between Ted Cruz and Beto O’Rourke is looking close, but Democrats should not hold out much hope of flipping this seat.

A powerful political network is distancing itself from the Trump-dominated Republican Party.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg says she’d like to stay on the Court at least until she turns 90, but it’s unlikely she’ll go anywhere voluntarily as long as Donald Trump is President.

President Trump is suggesting he may force a government shutdown over his immigration policies just a month before the midterm elections.

Senate Democrats appear to be recognizing that there’s basically nothing they can do to stop the confirmation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.

The Secretary of State of West Virginia has barred Don Blankenship, who came in third place in the GOP Primary, from mounting a third-party bid on the November ballot.

Don Blankenship, who came in third in the Republican Primary in West Virginia earlier this year, is moving forward with plans to run as a third-party candidate in the General Election.

Ohio Congressman Tim Ryan, who challenged Nancy Pelosi for a leadership spot in 2016, is telling supporters he’s running for President in 2020.

New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez is running for a third term under a dark ethical cloud. That probably won’t matter.

New York and several other states have filed an incredibly dubious lawsuit against the Republican’s new tax law.

Initial polling on Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court find the public more divided than they have been for other recent SCOTUS picks, but that’s unlikely to impact the fate of his nomination.

Rick Scott is pulling in impressive fundraising numbers, giving Democrats reason to worry that they’ll have another Senate seat to worry about in November.

California’s Democratic Party endorsed “progressive” upstart Kevin de León over Senator Dianne Feinstein, but this is unlikely to stop Feinstein from winning election to a sixth term in office.

At least in these early days, Democrats appear to lack a coherent message, or a coherent strategy, to propel any effort to block Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court.

A new poll lends credence to the suggestion that Democrats should be careful about rallying behind the call to “Abolish ICE.”

A selection that is likely to keep the Senate GOP united and red-state Democrats up for re-election under pressure to vote to confirm.

A new poll finds that most Americans oppose key elements of the immigration policies that the President and Republicans in Congress support.

Democrats are rallying around the “Abolish ICE” slogan in response to the Trump Administration’s immigration policies, but it could end up backfiring on them.

Democrats are making largely meaningless appeals to the so-called ‘Merrick Garland Precedent” to argue for a delay in confirming the President’s next Supreme Court nominee. The American people feel differently.

The National Debt has passed $21,000,000,000,000 for the first time in history just as the nation begins its return to the era of trillion dollar budget deficits.

Jim Jordan, who heads the powerful House Freedom Caucus, is being accused of ignoring reports of sexual abuse by a team doctor while he was a coach at The Ohio State University.

The Federal Government is hoarding an awful lot of cheese.

The House of Representatives has left town after once again failing to pass an immigration reform bill,, thus likely ensuring that nothing will be passed before the midterms.

President Trump’s short list of potential Supreme Court nominees consists mostly of conventionally conservative, well-qualified, jurists.

President Trump is reportedly considering the 47-year-old Utah Senator to replace Anthony Kennedy.

Retiring Arizona Senator Jeff Flake says that he will not seek to block President Trump’s nominee to replace Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court.