Stories related to: Democrat

Democrats scored a shocking upset last night, nabbing a House seat in a deeply conservative Mississippi district. Democrat Travis Childers prevailed 54% to 46% in the special election, Politico reports, soundly overcoming a nearly $2 million GOP campaign. Coming from a county that threw Bush 62% of its support in 2004, the results are panic-inducing for the GOP. More »

Barack Obama is trying his darnedest to shed the elitist vibe, writes Maureen Dowd in the New York Times, ditching his dainty sips at a Pennsylvania brewery for big swigs of Bud at an Indiana VFW. But for a man of mixed race and a blue-collar upbringing, it’s proving a surprisingly hard image to shake. More »

Barack Obama's angry break with his former pastor marks a dramatic change in tone for the Democratic hopeful—and the party's superdelegates are paying close attention, the New York Times reports. Obama's forceful handling of the furor has impressed many but the revival of thorny racial issues ahead of next week's primaries is causing some to fret. More »

Hillary Clinton is strongly urging her supporters to back Barack Obama if he wins the Democratic nomination. Polls have demonstrated that many Clinton and Obama supporters have become so firmly entrenched that they'd prefer to vote for John McCain over a Democratic rival. That would be "the height of political foolishness," said Clinton, who vowed to continue to work hard for the Democratic cause regardless of who becomes the nominee. More »

The Democratic mayor of Anchorage will throw his hat in the ring today for the Alaska Senate seat Ted Stevens has held for 4 decades, the Anchorage Daily News reports. Stevens, one of the Senate's most notorious pork producers, has been reelected easily 7 times, but is now under federal investigation for corruption. Mark Begich will face three other Democrats in a primary; the 84-year-old Stevens will run against two GOP challengers. More »

The majority of Democrats want Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama to battle to the bitter end rather than concede, a Washington Post -ABC News poll has found. The poll also shows Obama has opened a national10-point lead over Clinton among Democrats, and most say he is now the more electable of the two as negative opinions of both Clintons increase. More »

Former Ohio senator Howard Metzenbaum has died at home at the age of 90, reports the Cleveland Plain Dealer . The Democrat, his views shaped by the Great Depression and FDR's policies, fought hard for the rights of workers during a political career that began in 1943. Colleagues nicknamed the self-made millionaire "Senator No" after he used his mastery of Senate rules to block special interest bills and save taxpayers billions. More »

It's a push for green living, but with a uniquely Hollywood twist. The powerful William Morris talent agency has joined forces with stodgy government entities such as Amtrak and LA's public transportation system to push the eco-friendly benefits of mass transit. Advertising Age profiles the work in Hollywood of Kevin Murray, a former state senator who forged the unusual alliance. More »

A brain hemorrhage won't stop South Dakota Senator Tim Johnson from seeking reelection, he said yesterday. He is still in therapy and gets around in a motorized wheelchair, but claims he is ready to run. "It is clear to my family, my doctors, and me that I am able to do the hard work required of a United States senator," he said. More »

Barack Obama's campaign declared forum fatigue today, announcing that the presidential hopeful will decline requests to speak at debates and forums for the rest of this fall, beyond those they've already committed to. “Unfortunately, we simply cannot run the kind of campaign we want and need to," campaign manager David Plouffe wrote on the candidate's web site, "if our schedule is dictated by dozens of forums and debates.” More »

Senate Democrats wouldn’t be in the majority if Joe Lieberman didn’t caucus with them, but maybe they’d be better off, the New York Observer’ s Steve Kornacki argues. Kornacki says the Independent senator embarrasses Dems by siding with the enemy  and accusing them of being terrorist coddlers. He's a bully who likes to taunt them with the possibility of defection. But he has more to lose from a divorce than they do. More »

Presidential hopeful Barack Obama took a swipe yesterday at his main Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, saying  "change can't just be a slogan" --a reference to the slogan she introduced just a few days ago, "Ready for Change, Ready to Lead."  In fact, her approach is more like “change – but not too much change,” says the Washington Post. More »

Bill Clinton is trying out the role of doting husband on a campaign swing through Iowa this week. Their first joint appearances  seem aimed to boost Hillary's likability and cut that 50% disapproval rating. Bill offers a warm introduction, affectionate hugs, and the claim that his wife is better qualified to be president than he was when he first ran for the job. More »

They were in a dead heat two weeks ago, but a new USA TODAY/Gallup poll out today puts Hillary back in front for the Dem nomination with a double-digit spread over Barack. The red team is also shaking up, with not-quite-official candidate Fred Thompson stealing second standing from John McCain. More »

Despite his considerable experience in foreign affairs and effective stewardships of one of the most diverse, though small, states in the country, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson is not attracting much of a following, says Time blogger Karen Tumulty. Why? He’s not famous and doesn’t have enough famous friends. More »

The state's historic election difficulties notwithstanding, Florida's presidential primaries will be among the earliest in the nation. Yesterday's legislative approval of the January 29 date is already provoking other states into maneuvering for the first spot. Said the Massachusetts secretary of state: "The idea that this election could begin in 2007 may come true." More »

Larissa MacFarquhar does an apt and artful deconstruction of Barack Obama's political persona in this week's New Yorker . Observing the candidate's oddly mild stump style, compared with the overachiever affect of most Democratic candidates, she notes that he is less professor than doctor, aiming not to whip up outrage but to heal the body politic. More »

Grief over the Virginia Tech massacre is re-energizing gun control advocates like Rep. Carolyn Murphy, whose husband was shot dead in 1996. "For too long, Congress has stood idle while gun violence continues to take its toll," she said yesterday. But most Dems have studiously avoided the hot-button issue, which the party sees as political suicide. More »

Barack and Michelle Obama unveiled their 2006 federal income tax return yesterday, offering a peek into the wallet of one of the least affluent presidential aspirants. The couple reported $983,826 in taxable income in 2006—a comedown from 2005's $1.6 million. More »