Outside the Beltway

One week before the South Carolina Primary, the remaining Republican candidates for President clashed in a headed debate.

Unless the polls are very wrong, it looks to be a good night for Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump. Beyond that, there’s a lot that’s still up in the air.

The final polls of the Iowa Caucus show that the outcome of tonight’s caucuses depend almost entirely on turnout at this point. Plus, a projection of who will win and the order of finish.

Ted Cruz surges to a lead in the latest Iowa poll, setting up a seemingly inevitable showdown between the Texas Senator and Donald Trump.

Polls are quite useful in the right circumstances, but knowledge, complexity, and timing all have to be taken into account in determining what they are telling us.

Nate Silver reminds us all that, even when it comes to Iowa and New Hampshire, it’s much earlier than we think, and that voters are still likely to change their minds.

Democrat John Bel Edwards scored an easy victory over Senator David Vitter last night in Louisiana, and Vitter announced that he’d be leaving the Senate after his term is up.

Seemingly disproving yet another round of predictions of his imminent demise, Donald Trump continues to dominate the race for the Republican nomination.

To a large degree, the narrative you believe will govern the 2016 elections depend on which party you want to see win. But what’s the most likely outcome?

Donald Trump remains the favorite of those likely to vote in New Hampshire’s Republican Primary, but Marco Rubio is starting to inch up in the polls in the Granite State.

Whether they like it or not, it’s becoming quite apparent that Republicans may have to get used to the idea that Donald Trump really could be their nominee next year.

At a town hall last night in New Hampshire, it became clear just what kind of supporters Donald Trump’s demagoguery is attracting.

Some of Hillary Clinton’s Democratic opponents are complaining about the DNC’s parsimonious debate schedule.

Hillary Clinton has a bit of a public image problem, but it’s not clear if that will hurt her politically.

Thinking back to about this time in 2011.

A new poll shows that Hillary Clinton remains largely unstoppable on her quest for the Democratic Presidential Nomination, and she has a pretty clear path to the White House as well.

Los Angeles became the latest major city to increase its minimum wage. It’s a risky bet that is likely to do more harm than good.

The final episode airs tonight. How will Matt Weiner will wrap it up?

The just-concluded British General Election was also a clash between two former top advisers to President Obama.

Pundits and political scientists agree that, if the 2016 presidential election were today, we’d have a much better idea who would win.

One freshman Senator seems to think that war with Iran would be easy, just like Republicans used to think that war against Iraq would be easy.

Scott Walker’s response to the Iranian nuclear deal is perhaps the most irresponsible so far.

The numbers on the Ebola outbreak are bad, but they aren’t as bad as had been feared.

Our supposed Syrian allies seem to have a different idea of who the enemy in Syria actually is.

All the warnings of violence in the wake of an expected imminent announcement from the Grand Jury in the Michael brown case could become self-fulfilling prophecy.

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

Political scientists tend to be less dramatic than commentators.

Remember the border crisis? Yea, it’s not much of a crisis these days.

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.

A new poll indicates that NFL fans plan to keep watching despite the recent domestic abuse scandals.

The Kansas Supreme Court may have just upended the battle for control of the U.S. Senate

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

One analyst thinks that the predictions of a Republican Senate in 2014 are wildly optimistic.

A new poll indicates that Democratic candidates are holding their own against Republican challengers in three southern states.

A grim new poll for the President and his Democratic allies.

The Democrats have a big advantage in the Electoral College, at least for now.

Former RNC Chair Ed Gillespie is challenging incumbent Senator Mark Warner for his Senate seat.

Nearly six months later, it’s hard to find any good in the July military coup in Egypt.

The era of the electric car isn’t likely to arrive for a long time, if ever.

Some signs from Silicon Valley seem to indicate that the heady days of the 90s Tech Bubble are returning.

Do Voter ID laws really suppress voter turnout? The evidence from at least one state doesn’t prove it.

A good initial GDP report for the 3rd Quarter, but hardly something to write home about.

Will this new Australian oil discovery shake up world politics?

The GOP’s shutdown was about as pointless as a show about waiting for a table in a Chinese restaurant.

The GOP’s approval numbers have fallen like a stone, but it’s unclear whether this will matter in 2014.

Day One of the Obamacare online “marketplaces” is proving to be a bit of a bumpy ride.