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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWhat a crock of shit from Gallup
The same polling firm that had the 2012 Presidential polling off the whole election year http://www.politico.com/story/2014/01/reddest-bluest-states-102794.html?hp=r2
brooklynite
(94,503 posts)Art_from_Ark
(27,247 posts)What is a "competitive state"?
I see Arkansas is shown as "competitive", and yet the state, which until recently had been one of America's most solidly Democratic states outside of presidential elections, has been trending toward the Republicans, and even at the state level the Republicans are making big inroads. The state's only remaining Democratic representative in Congress, Senator Mark Pryor, is said to be fighting a tough battle with his wacky Republican opponent, Tom Cotton. In Arkansas, when a Democrat named Pryor is in trouble, you know things are not going well.
muriel_volestrangler
(101,307 posts)Those who identify as 'Democratic', or 'leans Democratic' among independents, and similarly for Republicans.
http://www.gallup.com/poll/167030/not-states-lean-democratic-2013.aspx#1
geek tragedy
(68,868 posts)deep red states. Especially the latter two, which haven't elected a single Democrat to statewide office in the past decade.
By the same token, Virginia has been rather unkind to Republicans over the same stretch.
pampango
(24,692 posts)The only way Georgia is going to change is if we have all these illegal aliens in here in Georgia, give them the right to vote, said Tea Party congressman Paul Broun on a local radio show, It would be morally wrong, it would be illegal to do so, under our current law. He continues: Actually, all these illegal aliens are getting federal largesse and taking taxpayers dollars. Thats the only way this state is going to become Democratic again, in the next number of decades, he said.
Broun is right about one thing: At 425,000, Georgia has one of the largest populations of undocumented immigrants in the United States. Otherwise, everything here is false. There is no immigration bill that would give immediate citizenship to undocumented immigrantsthe Gang of Eight proposal has a decade-long path to citizenshipand its simply not true that immigrants are getting federal largess; without authorization, immigrants are barred from most federal benefit programs.
If Broun were just a fringe figure, you could ignore these comments. But he echoes a whole host of Republicans who have done nothing but alienate immigrant communitiesincluding Latinos and Asian Americanswith dehumanizing rhetoric (immigration advocates oppose use of the term illegal alien). Whats more, because of his popularity with base voters in Georgia, he stands a decent chance of winning the nomination and representing the GOP in the states Senate race this fall. In which case, he becomes a huge liability to the Republican Party and its diversity efforts.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/01/07/illegal-aliens-will-take-your-tax-dollars-turn-georgia-blue-says-tea-party-republican.html
n2doc
(47,953 posts)Just wait, we will be sending Senator Broun up north to 'represent' us. The guy who says that evolution is a lie from the pit of hell. Just wait. I keep voting for sane people and keep seeing nutcases elected from here.
geek tragedy
(68,868 posts)won every once in a while.
Michigan is more competitive than Georgia.
pampango
(24,692 posts)they have happened.
geek tragedy
(68,868 posts)But, until both sides show they can win statewide races there, it's hard to call it competitive today.
Jeff In Milwaukee
(13,992 posts)Hasn't done for the GOP since 1988. Is it a close state? Sure. Could a lousy Democratic candidate lose it? Sure. But it's not competitive in the same way as North Carolina or Ohio.
I suspect someone has their thumb on the scale on behalf of the RNC.
brooklynite
(94,503 posts)I don't think most Democratic Presidential candidates, even Hillary Clinton, would assume Pennsylvania is safely in their corner.
Orrex
(63,203 posts)Even on his home turf of Pittsburgh, Onorato was seen as a longshot.
Corbett's "victory" tells us less about the state as a whole than about that particular gubernatorial election.
Jeff In Milwaukee
(13,992 posts)A lousy candidate can still lose. And states can be freaky in Presidential v. Gubernatorial elections. Take Minnesota.
Orrex
(63,203 posts)Jeff In Milwaukee
(13,992 posts)Orrex
(63,203 posts)Oh, wait a minute...
muriel_volestrangler
(101,307 posts)(and because they got control of the state legislature in 2010, they translated that into an unfair seat advantage. But this did still manage to get about as many House votes in the state as Democrats did).
Gallup list it as a Democratic advantage of 3 points. That seems reasonable. Yeah, Ohio is +0.4% for Dems, and NC +0.6% for Repubs, so it's not as competitive as those two, in Gallup's opinion as well as yours. The Republican equivalent leads are Georgia (2.9%) and Missouri (3.1%).
geek tragedy
(68,868 posts)Jeff In Milwaukee
(13,992 posts)SoCalDem
(103,856 posts)DCBob
(24,689 posts)ProSense
(116,464 posts)look at the shift from 2011 (which is the year Republican gains registered) to 2013
http://www.gallup.com/poll/167030/not-states-lean-democratic-2013.aspx