Outside the Beltway

Reports of discrepancies in the counting of ballots in the Democratic Caucus in Iowa reveal yet again why the caucus process is outdated and ought to be abandoned.

Clinton is a virtual lock for the Democratic nomination. Rubio is the most plausible Republican winner in a messy field.

Kentucky Senator Rand Paul has dropped out of the race for the Republican nomination.

Despite media narratives to the contrary, I do not see this as a truly competitive contest.

Six months ago, there were seventeen candidates for the 2016 Republican nomination. Now, the race is effectively down to three candidates.

Hillary Clinton eked out the narrowest of wins in Iowa, but now she’s headed to New Hampshire where Bernie Sanders holds a seemingly insurmountable lead in the polls.

Ted Cruz won, Marco Rubio surged into a stronger than expected third place, and Donald Trump was humbled just a little bit, but he was hardly a “loser.” The race for the GOP nomination has begun for real.

With just over a week to go, the New Hampshire primary is being dominated by a bombastic New York celebrity and a septuagenarian Vermont socialist.

Fundraising in the final three months of 2015 largely reflected the state of the race itself, but some candidates are better positioned going forward than others.

Some thoughts and questions as we finally hit the start of the process. (And the return of the Toast-o-Meter)

The final Des Moines Register poll before Caucus Night shows Donald Trump leading the GOP field, and Hillary Clinton with a narrow lead over Bernie Sanders, but much of the final outcome will depend on who shows up for the respective party caucuses.

Last night’s Republican debate had a different feel with the absence of a certain bloviating narcissist.

Many analysts are making the argument that Marco Rubio is the GOP’s best hope to win the General Election in 2016. That may be true, but before he can get there he needs to find a way to win the GOP nomination.

With mere days until voting starts, the possibility of Donald Trump running the table in the February primaries and caucuses, or nearly doing so, is more and more likely.

With less than a week to go before the Iowa Caucuses, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are fighting a closely-pitched battle that will depend largely on turnout.

With less than a week to go before voting starts, Donald Trump continues to dominate the GOP race, with Ted Cruz the only candidate even close to looking like a viable challenger.

The flagship of the American right is leading the charge against Donald Trump, but it’s not likely to work.

Marco Rubio’s campaign strategy depends on a lot of hope, and no small degree of ignoring reality.

Sarah Palin is back, and she’s endorsing Donald Trump for the Republican nomination for President.

Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders clashed in the final debate before the Iowa Caucuses in the context of a race that has appeared to become tighter than it was before Christmas.

The primary debates continue to draw in a lot of viewers.

With almost no sign that he’ll be able to turn his campaign around, many of Jeb Bush’s top campaign donors are looking to jump ship to other candidates.

With less than three weeks to go before voting starts, the Republican candidates for President clashed in their most contentious debate so far.

Polling is continuing to show a tightening in the race for the Democratic nomination, even though most Democrats continue to believe that Hillary Clinton will be their eventual nominee.

President Obama’s final State Of The Union Address was largely a recognition of the fact that his time on the world stage is quickly coming to an end.

There are signs that Ted Cruz’s rise in the Hawkeye State will be short-lived.

The Democratic race in Iowa and New Hampshire is tightening, according to new polling, but this still seems to be Clinton’s race.

Donald Trump is out with his first television ad, and it’s about what you’d expect.

Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders both released strong fourth quarter fundraising reports, as did Republicans Ted Cruz and Ben Carson.

Further signs that Ben Carson’s Presidential campaign, which has been in a death spiral in the polls for some time now, is in real trouble,

Jeb Bush and Chris Christie have spent the holiday week taking aim at Marco Rubio.

Former President Clinton is set to hit the campaign trail for his wife in the New Year, and that could make things quite entertaining.

Rand Paul is throwing a bit of a temper tantrum. It’s not very Presidential.

As we head into Christmas, there doesn’t seem to be much peace on Earth or good will toward men among Ben Carson’s advisers.

Fox Business Network has announced its criteria for the next GOP Debate, and it looks like Rand Paul, Carly Fiorina, and John Kasich will be kept off the prime time stage.

Donald Trump has won Politifact’s ‘Lie Of The Year’ because, well, he’s told so many things that are utterly and provably false.

There have been many arguments that polling has over-stated Donald Trump’s actual level of support among likely Republican voters, but there’s also a good argument that they are understating it and that Trump may do better when people start voting than many think.

Donald Trump and Ted Cruz are surging in state polls as we head toward the holidays.

We won’t have Lindsey Graham to kick around anymore.

If Donald Trump is going to win in early states like Iowa or New Hampshire, he needs a ground game that will get voters to the polls. It doesn’t seem like he has much of one right now.

If you were looking for evidence that the race for the Democratic nomination is basically over, you need look no further than last night’s Democratic Debate.

The first post-debate polls of the GOP race have more good news for Donald Trump.

Marco Rubio has been getting a lot of love lately from both conservatives and so-called ‘establishment’ Republicans, but his seemingly meager ground game in early states is raising doubts about his campaign.

Another set of solid ratings for the latest debate.

A new poll shows that a majority of Americans oppose a ban on so-called ‘assault weapons,’ a marked change from two decades ago.

The Fifth Republican Debate, and the last of 2015, was marked by expected clashes between the candidates, and one that never happened.

It’s now the most hated man in the Senate’s turn in the sun. Can it last?

Kentucky Senator Rand Paul got a break today when CNN included him in the prime time debate on Tuesday even though he fell short of meeting the criteria.