During the last 14 days the White House and President Obama have gone on the attack, and their strategy is pretty simple: "Let's acknowledge the voter anger and make sure it gets funneled toward something else." Thus we have seen political attacks on just about everyone -- and everything -- out there. The problem, though, is that voters aren't angry with Karl Rove, John Boehner, the Chamber of Commerce or even the "undisclosed financing" of elections. Voters are angry about the economy and they have two devastating perceptions of this administration: voters think it is incompetent and that it has overreached over the past two years.
An even bigger problem for the White House is that voters may have already tuned the President out; virtually every possible metric used to evaluate the outcome of the midterm elections suggest a massive GOP victory. So let's just come out and say it: there is no reason to think that Republicans will do any worse than 1994 (when they picked up 54 seats) and there is plenty of data to suggest that it will, in fact, be a better year for the GOP. Our projection -- based on all current available data -- is that the GOP will gain between 60 and 70 House seats in November.
The White House and Democrats want this election to be a "choice," but midterms are rarely ever "choice" elections -- that's what Presidential elections are for. Instead, midterms are a referendum on the President and the party in power. So let's look at the key metrics that we use to evaluate voter perceptions of the President and Congress:
Election Projections
We are in agreement with several recent analyses suggesting that there are approximately 35-40 house seats that should be rated in the "toss-up" category. To simplify things we will refer to the RCP assessment that has 39 "toss-up" seats. They have identified 185 seats as either likely or lean Democrat and 211 as either likely or lean GOP. In each of the remaining 39 "toss-up" races the Republicans and Democrats have been polling within points of each other--many are within the margin of error. So let's assume that these 39 races split 50/50, giving the GOP a 20-set pick up. That gives the GOP a 53-seat pick up and control of the House. But a more realistic analysis suggests that in this current environment--keeping in mind the above voting metrics and the GOP turnout advantage--the GOP will win approximately 70% of the toss-up seats. That would mean a total pickup of 60 seats. And then let's also assume that Republicans pick up a few of the "lean Democrat" seats. Our sense is that in a true "wave" election the party with the lead, the enthusiasm and the turnout advantage will take 70-80% of the toss-up seats in addition to some of the seats that "lean" toward the other party. Using this formula, at this point in time it is our sense that the GOP will pick up a total of around 65 seats, giving the GOP control of the House (with 242 seats to the Democrats' 185).
The Senate is easier to visualize but, in some respects, more problematic to project. We continue to believe that it will come down to the West Coast, with the races in California (Boxer and Fiorina) and Washington (Murray and Rossi) holding the key to a Republican takeover. We've put Connecticut in the Democrat column and have put the following in the GOP column: KY, MO, NH, PA and WI. The other four true toss-up states are West Virginia, Colorado, Nevada and Illinois, although there are signs that all four are trending GOP at this time. Assuming Republicans win all four of these toss-up states, that leaves the aforementioned two West Coast races. The GOP would have to win one of those "away games" to get to 51 seats in the Senate.
Thanks again to John Zirinsky and Peter Ventimiglia for their insights and contributions. For real-time reactions to events and more thoughts on the public opinion environment, please follow us on Twitter @lcgpolling.
Follow Steve Lombardo on Twitter: www.twitter.com/lcgpolling
Trying some psych-ops to demoralize the liberal base. Unfortunately for this tool, will probably have the opposite effect. How many people with have a brain would want Michelle Bachman or Steven King heading any congressional committee.
Yes, I *AM* a white guy. Why do you ask?
All sustainable mass movements have several characteristics in common:
1. Grassroots origin (not astroturf).
2. No ideological contradictions (sorry, teabaggers).
3. Not based on hatred and cynicism (again - sorry teabaggers).
The current reactionary wave is not sustainable. The only question is whether it will fizzle before this election or the next.
In the meantime: Vote, volunteer, organize and don't give in to pundant provided pessimism.
1) Selling out to health insurance companies
2) selling out to Wall Street
3) selling out to the military-industrial complex
Why would any liberal continue to vote for those clowns if they're not going to do their job?
Well the D party did it self, they announce a "great reform for the people" then let R's and money define and write laws for same. Sorry D's but you sold out, and are simply incompetent to defend what you did, as some good came out of tiny bit. When D's ran from Obama, they proved to public they have not loyalty, had a R done that to Bush, the R party would have dropped them on spot.
D's were warned when they lost MA seat, but blissfully went on with half way measures. That is the truths they do not want to admit, Nadar was right, D';s taking same money as R's is end of the D party", now the proof is something no D wants to admit, from WH on down. This is final end of the Mid Class unless something really changes, the "40 year plan" is about to be culminated, RIP USA
+60 seats for the GOP is a reasonable estimate. RCP averages have GOP leaning/likely +37 seats. They have 39 seats as tossups, and 38 of those seats are currently held by Dems. If the GOP takes 54% of the tossups, it's 60 seat gain for the GOP.
Reagan, Bush I, and Bush II, all ran up the deficit. Bush II inherited a 236 million dollar surplus,
and turned it into a 1.4 trillion dollar deficit.
Dick Cheney said,
Deficits Reagan proved deficits don't matter.
President Obama inherited, an economy losing with American losing 700,000 jobs and their
health care a month, a free falling stock market (now up over 70%), and the largest deficit in history
the budget shrank this by $125 billion.
Free you mind from the right wing matrix.
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