Tag: Election 2014
Deficit Drops to Lowest Level Since Before the 2008 Financial Crash
The budget deficit in the U.S. shrank in the last fiscal year to the lowest level as a share of the economy since 2007 as faster growth and falling unemployment boosted tax receipts, the Treasury Department said.
The shortfall was $483.4 billion in the 12 months to Sept. 30, compared with $680.2 billion a year earlier, the Treasury said today in Washington. That’s about a third of the record $1.4 trillion deficit reached in 2009. Revenue jumped 8.9 percent and spending gained 1.4 percent, the figures showed.
Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew said the fiscal improvement is partly tied to stronger growth, as the nation’s unemployment rate dropped to 5.9 percent in September from 7.2 percent a year earlier. Still, the deficit is forecast by the Congressional Budget Office to start widening again as an aging population prompts more spending on Social Security and health care.
Voters Appear Set to Hand Control of Congress to the Party They Like Least
With the midterm elections less than a month away, polling suggests that voters will give the Republican Party majorities in both houses of Congress for the first time since 2006, when they booted GOP out of power after its disastrous six year run as George W. Bush’s “Rubberstamp Congress.”
The NBC poll found that while 59 percent of Republicans say they’re engaged in the election, just 47 percent of Democrats are paying attention
FiveThirtyEight gives Republicans a 60 percent chance of taking the Senate, and, largely because of Republican gerrymandering in 2011, there is little chance Democrats will take back the House. To keep their majority in the Senate, Democrats need to hold and/or win six seats, including five current seats in red and purple states — Alaska, Arkansas, Louisiana, North Carolina and New Hampshire — and one blue state that looks wobbly, Colorado. They are likely to hold the open seat in Michigan, the race for the open seat in Georgia is considered winnable, and — if they’re having a good night — upsets are possible in Kansas and South Dakota.
How likely is that Democrats will have a good night on Nov. 4? An NBC poll this week found that likely voters favor a Republican-led Congress by two points, 46/44 percent, while the larger cohort of registered voters prefer to put Dems in charge by the same margin, 46/42 percent. The preference for Democratic-control by registered voters ought to be encouraging — the Dems have put time and money into getting out the vote in critical states — but NBC also found that while 59 percent of Republicans say they’re engaged in the election, just 47 percent of Democrats are paying attention.
The Panic’s Infectious
Democrats have panic growing in their eyes,
As Republicans see their Senate hopes rise.
But one thing’s for sure,
In the absence of a cure,
Ebola is this election’s “October surprise.”
For the Presence of a Fan, a Debate Hung in Limbo
Are we really going to debate about a fan? Or are we going to talk about education and the environment and the future of our state? I mean, really.
— Former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist (D) as he stood alone on stage at Broward College on live TV waiting to start a gubernatorial debate, while Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) refused to take the stage Wednesday night because Crist insisted on using a fan to keep cool, the Miami Herald reports.>/h2.
Democrats Starting to Manage Midterm Expectations
The first thing I see every morning when my eyes flutter open is 29 — which is the average loss to a president’s party in a second midterm. We never assumed the best, we prepared for the worst.
— Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY), head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, managing midterm election expectations in a NBC News interview.
Obama’s Favorability at 49%, According to Daily Tracking Poll from GOP’s Rasmussen
49%
Pres. Obama’s approval rating according to the Daily Presidential Tracking Poll for October 15, 2014, from Rasmussen Reports, a Republican polling group. His disapproval rating is also 49%. That’s significantly better than his 42/52% rating in an NBC poll released this week.
Obama May Not Be on the Ballot in November, But His Policies Are
I am not on the ballot this fall. Michelle’s pretty happy about that. But make no mistake: these policies are on the ballot. Every single one of them.
— President Obama, quoted by the Washington Post.
United States Election Project Monitors Early Voting
For those of you who practice or follow early voting, the United States Election Project maintains a spreadsheet of reports from state elections officials who voluntarily provide running stats.
The information provided by states differs, but some offer demographics or party affiliation. For up-to-the-minute info, follow USEP on Twitter at @ElectProject.
