Outside the Beltway

Running for office or just running?

Some thoughts on polling and the news since 2016.

The electoral calendar affects who the electorate is.

And what GOP opposition says about the party.

All the states have been called.

Looking back on the last three decades of presidential elections. (Part 1: the popular vote).

A look at several models.

Is the Chief Justice laying a trap or simply ‘calling balls and strikes’?

Competing in fourteen states plus overseas territories in one day is expensive.

Money has increasingly dominated American politics but the court case had little to do with it.

Mike Bloomberg isn’t officially a candidate for President yet, but he’s getting closer.

We won’t have whats-his-name to kick around anymore.

Kamala Harris has slipped in the polls but her financial numbers are still pretty respectable.

House Democrats are set to investigate the payoffs made to Karen McDougal and Stormy Daniels in advance of the 2016 election.

The DNC has $9.3 million to the RNC’s $44 million.

It was a very successful fundraising quarter for the former Vice-President.

There’s a lot of money already chasing the 2020 presidential election.

Steve King, who has recently come under attack for a long history of racist remarks, is facing a strong challenge for the GOP nomination in 2020.

Disgraced former Chief Justice of Alabama Roy Moore is apparently “seriously considering” running for Senate in 2020.

New reports indicate that Donald Trump was closely involved in the efforts to buy the silence of a Playboy model and a former adult film star.

The latest reports about the circumstances surrounding the payoff to Stormy Daniels could pose big problems for Michael Cohen and his client.

In a significant First Amendment ruling, the Supreme Court has held that a Minnesota law barring “political apparel” at polling places is unconstitutional.

Mitt Romney stumbled in his bid to become Utah’s next Senator but he’s still likely to win the nomination anyway.

A feel-good story is unlikely to have a happy ending.

Yesterday, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in a case pitting the First Amendment against the right of states to regulate elections.

A Trump judicial nominee who could not answer basic legal questions in a hearing last week has withdrawn his nomination, but this is likely to happen again unless the Administration fixes some obvious flaws in its selection process.

Meet Matthew Peterson, a nominee for the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia who apparently doesn’t know much about trials.

There are reports that the President is considering firing Special Counsel Bob Mueller. Are we headed for another Saturday Night Massacre?

As President Obama starts campaigning for Hillary Clinton, a perennial question arises.

Donald Trump has almost no cash on hand. That doesn’t bode well for his campaign going forward.

Conservatives are sending a message to Senate Republicans about the vacancy on the Supreme Court, and it may require them to initiate a suicidal game plan.

Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders both released strong fourth quarter fundraising reports, as did Republicans Ted Cruz and Ben Carson.

We won’t have Lindsey Graham to kick around anymore.

Rand Paul is likely to miss the main stage for next Tuesday’s debate, so his campaign is already calling on CNN to change the rules.

Candidates who have been excluded from tomorrow’s Fox Business Network are complaining, but their complaints ignore the fact that polling is the best objective criteria we have to determine debate eligibility.

Once the Republican frontrunner, Jeb Bush is now floundering and dealing with donors worried that they may be backing the wrong horse.

The RNC wants Donald Trump to sign an oath that he will not run as a third-party candidate if he doesn’t win the Republican nomination.

CNN has revised its criteria for the main September 16th debate such that Carly Fiorina will now most likely make the cut.

A Federal Appeals Court has upheld a 1949 law that bars protesters from the property around the Supreme Court building. This seems inconsistent with the Court’s recent First Amendment jurisprudence.

Public opinion on the Supreme Court has declined significantly, largely because Republicans don’t like the Supreme Court very much right now.

Donald Trump won’t rule out running against the eventual Republican nominee. Will the RNC use this as an excuse to try to force him out of the race?

This is not a serious Presidential campaign, it is a bloviating sideshow.

It’s all about the Benjamins.

Former Virginia Senator Jim Webb is running for President for reasons I would assume make sense to him.

Donald Trump is probably just messing around with all of us again, but he’s certainly acting like someone who’s running for President.

Hillary Clinton told supporters she’d require Supreme Court nominees to pledge to overturn Citizens United, a decision she completely misrepresented.