Outside the Beltway

Columbus, Philadelphia, or New York City (well, Brooklyn really)?

Based on the available evidence, there’s very little evidence that Voter ID laws had a significant impact on the midterm elections.

An adviser close to Hillary Clinton is talking about expanding the Electoral College map in 2016, but even without such an expansion the GOP faces an uphill battle.

Republicans performed better among Latino voters this year than they did in 2012, but that doesn’t mean they’ve solved their problems.

Voter Turnout was lower this year than in any midterm since the one held eleven months after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Support for legalizing marijuana continues to grow slowly but surely.

Dana Milbank (“Obama’s big immigration mistake”) thinks so.

An unsurprising ruling from the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals that only seems to bring closer the day when same-sex marriage will be legal nationwide.

Tuesday’s Republican wave didn’t change the fundamentals.

Another setback for the radical fringe of the “pro-life” movement,

Despite speculation, both Angus King and Joe Manchin will stay with the Democratic caucus. And that makes sense for both of them.

What happened Tuesday? And what does it tell us about 2016?

The Republican wave extended even to Governor’s races that, in any other year, they should have lost.

Big victories for advocates of marijuana legalization.

2014 was not supposed to be a wave election, but it clearly qualifies as one.

After spiking in the wake of the Newtown tragedy, gun control has faded back into obscurity as an issue voters care about significantly.

Time to look into the crystal ball.

Early numbers seem to suggest that it depends on which state you’re looking at.

Just over one year ago, Virginia State Senator Creigh Deeds was attacked by his son, revealing problems with our mental health system that have yet to be adequately addressed.

Two states and the nation’s capital could have legal marijuana after Tuesday’s elections.

The odds say that the GOP will end up with a Senate majority in the 114th Congress when all the votes are counted, but if it doesn’t happen then there’s likely to be quite a battle inside the GOP.

The City of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho will not force two Christian ministers to open their wedding chapel business to same-sex wedding ceremonies.

Things are looking good for the GOP to take over the Senate, but there are still several right races that could tip the balance one way or the other.

Polls continue to show that most Americans are largely tuning the midterms out.

Early voting is a still new idea in the United States, but one that has quickly spread to a majority of states. But, is it a good idea?

There’s at least a 50-50 chance we won’t know who controls the Senate until weeks after Election Day.

Despite conventional wisdom, there remains little incentive for the GOP to change its position on immigration reform.

New York State’s gun law takes rights away from nearly 35,000 people without any due process whatsoever.

To a large degree, the Democratic Party’s supposed advantage among women voters appears to not exist this year.

A collision between marriage equality and religious liberty, but it seems clear that religious liberty should win this one.

The Supreme Court’s expansion of same-sex marriage seems to be sitting well with the American public.

Rich guys are backing organizations that are taking over traditional party functions. Is that a problem?

In the space of one week, we’ve gone from 19 states that recognize same-sex marriage to 29. Soon, it will be 35.

The die is cast.

By failing to act, the Supreme Court has effectively legalized same-sex marriage in eleven more states.

Two weeks after it seemed to be tightening, there are signs the battle for control of the Senate may be moving in the GOP’s direction.

While it still seems unlikely that he’ll run, Mitt Romney does seem to be leaving the door open to a third run at the White House.

Republicans still have an advantage, but Democrats seem to be holding their own in the battle for Senate control.

It would appear that someone needs to introduce the Air Force to Article VI of the Constitution.

Cowardice, or politically prudent?

So far at least, there is no evidence that 2014 will be a “wave election.”

17-year veteran of the LAPD says, “If you don’t want to get hurt, don’t challenge me.”

A trial court judge in Tennessee is the first jurist since the Supreme Court’s decision in U.S. v. Windsor to uphold a ban on same-sex marriage

Dispelling a rising myth,

The GOP has a good chance of taking the Senate in 2014, but it will be by a narrow margin.