Democratic National Committee chair Tom Perez should be very pleased with his performance. Since winning the chairperson position in February 2017, he has overseen a net gain of eight gubernatorial elections and hundreds of state legislative seats, as well as winning back control of the United States House of Representatives (“House”) in 2018—flipping a historic … Continue reading 2020 Senate and Gubernatorial Elections: The View from Labor Day
Category: 2017 Elections
Organizing by themes I: American politics
This site benefits/suffers/both from consisting of posts about a wide range of topics, all linked under the amorphous heading "data-driven storytelling." In an attempt to impose some coherent structure, I am organizing related posts both chronologically and thematically. Given that I have multiple degrees in political science, with an emphasis on American politics, it is … Continue reading Organizing by themes I: American politics
Positively pondering pesky probabilities, perchance
One inspiration to start this “data-driven storytelling” blog was the pioneering work of Nate Silver and his fellow data journalists at FiveThirtyEight.com; their analyses are an essential “critical thinking” reality check to my own conclusions and perceptions. Indeed, when I finally get around to designing and teaching my course on critical thinking (along with my … Continue reading Positively pondering pesky probabilities, perchance
Using Jon Ossoff polling data to make a point about statistical significance testing
I do not like the phrase “statistical dead heat,” nor do I like the phrase “statistical tie.” These phrases oversimplify the level of uncertainty accruing to any value (e.g., polling percentage or margin) estimated from a sample of a larger population of interest, such as the universe of election-day voters; when you sample, you are … Continue reading Using Jon Ossoff polling data to make a point about statistical significance testing
Jon Ossoff, Ed Markey, and the (near-)future of the Democratic Party
The runoff special election for Georgia’s 6th Congressional District (CD) is June 20, 2017. Democrat Jon Ossoff won the first round of voting on April 19, 2017, but with only 48.1% of the vote. Rather than have separate party primaries, all candidates in Georgia run in a single “jungle primary.” If nobody receives more than … Continue reading Jon Ossoff, Ed Markey, and the (near-)future of the Democratic Party
Democrats need to capitalize on gubernatorial election opportunities in 2017 and 2018
Having previously analyzed Democratic prospects in the 2018 midterm elections for U.S. House (House; here and here) and Senate (Senate; here), I now examine what I think are the most important elections for both parties in 2017 and 2018—those for governor. In an age of increasing partisan polarization and Congressional gridlock, governors have emerged as … Continue reading Democrats need to capitalize on gubernatorial election opportunities in 2017 and 2018
Just Bear With Me... 