Jennifer Donahue is the Political Director at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics.

Background: A political reporter and producer for 14 years; now in academia. Was a Harvard Institute of Politics Fellow, Fall 2008. Before joining NHIOP in 2002, Donahue covered the 2000 presidential race for a New Hampshire TV station, and as an on-air analyst for MSNBC. Donahue covered the 1996 race for CNN and the 1992 presidential race for C-SPAN. Hardball's Chris Matthews called her "a rising star" among political analysts. Since joining NHIOP, Donahue has appeared on every major broadcast network news show, as well as CNN, MSNBC, FOX, NPR, and the BBC. Donahue moderates frequent panels and lectures on politics. She is regularly quoted in national and local newspapers and magazines. Donahue has also worked as a press secretary for a U.S. Senator and is a graduate of Cornell University.

Blog Entries by Jennifer Donahue

Voters Are Turning Up The Heat While Congress Struggles To Understand

Posted November 24, 2009 | 09:36 AM (EST)


As the Senate considers health care legislation, voters at home are waiting. Waiting for the holidays, waiting for paychecks, waiting for jobs. Postponing trips, postponing purchases, postponing college, postponing weddings. Postponing anything that costs money.

When Members of the House and Senate return home, they will probably face the wrath...

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Ethics Probe Could Feel to Voters Like 1992 House Banking Scandal

2 Comments | Posted October 30, 2009 | 01:37 PM (EST)


News today of House ethics investigators looking into dozens of members and staffers is a huge news bomb that will effect everything that happens between now and the 2010 election. This goes to the heart of the trust between Americans and their elected officials, and how it plays out will...

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Two Parties of 'No' and a Silent Majority

12 Comments | Posted October 12, 2009 | 01:56 PM (EST)


"This is the most polarized I've ever seen it," has been the echo of scores of political observers. The visceral reaction towards the ideas of others is, if not the worst, high, as we approach 2010.

The fact that any development is up for criticism shows just how divisive...

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What Do Americans Want On Health Care?

26 Comments | Posted September 30, 2009 | 01:00 PM (EST)


A year ago, it was clear that most Americans wanted health care reform. They still do. But along the way, Washington has cut them out of the process.

This summer, lawmakers took a lesson from town hall meetings back home. Members endured angry, scared voters. Some of the protesters were...

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Obama Brings Passion to Health Care Reform

7 Comments | Posted September 15, 2009 | 03:03 PM (EST)


After months of missed opportunities, tense town hall meetings, and an American public with too little information on what a health care overhaul would look like, President Obama today brought the freshly finished plan from Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus straight to the people.

The President has accomplished...

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With New Strategy White House Plays Last Card on Health Care: Lead a Bipartisan Bill or Risk a Defining First Year Failure

36 Comments | Posted September 1, 2009 | 10:59 PM (EST)


August recess was no day at the playground for legislators visiting their home districts. Main Street is looking worse each day. Folks back home are angry, and a vocal group has proved it in town halls. New Hampshire is no exception. White House control over the bill, and the legacy...

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Young People: Carry on Kennedy's Torch of Caring for Those with Less

6 Comments | Posted August 26, 2009 | 07:40 AM (EST)


The loss of Senator Kennedy is enormous, to his family, to his colleagues on both sides of the aisle, and to the country. In this moment, let's do one thing: for those of us who were graced to know Sen. Kennedy and the values he represents, pass it on to...

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Save AstroTurf for Football Season: Water Grassroots on Health Care, Not Clunkers

3 Comments | Posted August 6, 2009 | 03:17 PM (EST)


Watching bad strategy play out is frustrating, mainly because it undermines the genuine philosophical beliefs of voters and lawmakers, and partly because so often it repeats past mistakes.

President Obama is repeating the mistakes Hillary Clinton and President Clinton's administration made when they rolled out health care. The mistakes recurring...

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Jay-Z: "Every Step You Take, They Remind You, You Ghetto"

93 Comments | Posted July 25, 2009 | 12:34 PM (EST)


At the Grammy's, Jay-Z rapped with Coldplay in the song "Lost," and what he said bears repeating:

"It's only half if they like you. There ain't even the half what they might do.
Don't believe me, ask Michael. See Martin, see Malcolm...
See success and it's...

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Americans, Not Washington, Will Determine Health Care. So Where's the Grassroots Movement?

27 Comments | Posted July 22, 2009 | 10:59 AM (EST)


When President Obama takes his case for health care to the American people tonight, his job is this: re-energize the large base of Americans who were adamant about the issue a year ago.

Senator Harry Reid and Rep. Nancy Pelosi can talk about health care until they are blue...

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Why Americans Are Getting Happier Amidst Economic Low Point

8 Comments | Posted July 20, 2009 | 07:09 PM (EST)


Both President Obama and Senator McCain had a message about how change happens: from the bottom up. Obama made his case better, and had a better handle on what people envisioned at this time.

Now, nine months after giving Obama the clearest electoral victory since Ronald Reagan, tangible signs are...

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AP: After Palin, Ayotte Resigns to Explore NH Senate; Sotomayor Is the Bar: Welcome to the 24/7 Election Cycle of the Woman

3 Comments | Posted July 7, 2009 | 12:16 PM (EST)


You may not like Sarah Palin's voice, or winks, or nods, or language. But she has a perfect storm brewing, and told Andrea Mitchell as much. She can't afford more ethics allegations, and Limbaugh says she can't afford to stay above the lower 48, or let the media define her...

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In Wake of McCain, Sanford, Ensign: Grassroots Republicans Like Mitt Over Palin

75 Comments | Posted July 1, 2009 | 08:02 AM (EST)


Republicans get hungry fast. Having just digested the lack of leadership in the GOP, mainstream Republicans appear to be coming out of denial. The shock and awe of the election of President Obama, unease over Senator McCain, the leadership of Dick Cheney, Rush Limbaugh and Newt Gingrich has all come...

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If Ayotte Runs in NH, It's a Sign Democrats Have Electoral Problems Holding Senate/House Seats in 2010

12 Comments | Posted June 17, 2009 | 09:41 AM (EST)


New Hampshire in 2010 is very much in play from Senate to dog-catcher, and that could present a challenge for Democrats in 2010 if other states follow suit -- which they often do. I'm not saying 2010 could be Obama's 2006, where that many seats go to the other party,...

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The Real GOP Bench Is Hiding From the Ones on TV and Radio

30 Comments | Posted June 10, 2009 | 08:27 AM (EST)


Today's USA Today/Gallup poll shows the GOP with lower party favor than it has had with voters since before Watergate (i.e. people like the party less than during Nixon's resignation.)

The most recognized figures "leading" the party are: Limbaugh, former VP Dick Cheney, Newt Gingrich, who has not held office...

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It's Law: Gay Marriage Is Now a Reality in New Hampshire

40 Comments | Posted June 3, 2009 | 04:27 PM (EST)


After months of contentious debate over gay marriage, the NH has approved same sex marriage, making it the sixth state to do so.

The House-passed legislation legalizes gay marriage with the conditions added by Governor Lynch that protected religious entities from having to perform same sex marriages if they do...

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Where is the Rest of the Republican Party? Is This Who You Want to Be?

2 Comments | Posted June 2, 2009 | 12:12 PM (EST)


Having covered the Clarence Thomas hearings as a field producer for C-SPAN in 1991, I am only partially consoled to see the formality of the Senate meetings today with Judge Sonia Sotomayor introduced into what so far has seemed from the Republicans to be an informal backroom meeting of the...

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Rush, Buchanan, Tancredo and Their Pitchforks: The Backlash Against Obama has Begun

2 Comments | Posted June 1, 2009 | 11:43 AM (EST)


I see that the old Pat Buchanan is back. The one that was a pro-white, protectionist, anti-progress candidate who came in close behind Dole in Iowa and won New Hampshire's Primary in 1996. Remember him? The guy who used hate-talk and race-baiting to gin up a populist movement?

You can...

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The Real Story Behind How Supreme Court Justices Are Chosen; Gingirch Leading Fight Shows WH Winning On Sotomayor

11 Comments | Posted May 27, 2009 | 10:58 AM (EST)


The first Supreme Court confirmation hearings I covered as a journalist were the Clarence Thomas proceedings. There, as a young field producer for C-SPAN, I found myself in the middle of history in real time. This was back in the days when cellphones had to be carried in a big...

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Sotomayor Pick Will Drive GOP Crazy: Saved Baseball, Ended Nude Photo Show

34 Comments | Posted May 26, 2009 | 10:38 AM (EST)


In picking Judge Sonia Sotomayor, President Obama looked past her immaculate bio and the diversity she represents. In so doing, he also picked a Judge who did a couple things that will make it hard to peg her as liberal activist judge.

She has been well vetted. She was on...

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