http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/ en Copyright 2008 Wed, 01 Aug 2007 12:56:18 -0400 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=3.36 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Congressional endorsements are the flimsiest of all endorsements in a presidential race. While a select few members can have an impact due to their home state's primacy in the nominating process (Iowa, New Hampshire etc.) or a particularly well organized grassroots operation in either their district or region, any single endorsement from a Member of Congress is relatively meaningless. So, when former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani announced yesterday that Pennsylvania Reps. Jim Gerlach and Phil English were endorsing his presidential campaign, it passed without notice. But then we glanced at all of Giuliani's congressional endorsers (which are listed at after the jump) and noticed an interesting trend -- all but two of the 20 are from states won by Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) in 2004 and four hold districts that Kerry won. Some of those sitting in Kerry districts won't face serious challenges from Democrats in 2008 but http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2007/08/rudys_congressional_backing.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2007/08/rudys_congressional_backing.html '08 Endorsement Elite Wed, 01 Aug 2007 12:56:18 -0400 It's a testament to the uncertainties still present in the Fast Track Campaign there are at least three potential dates still in discussion for Michigan's Republican presidential primary. Currently, no primary date is set. Two bills are sitting in the state legislature -- one that would set the primary on Feb. 5 -- the new Super Tuesday --and the other that would hold it on Jan. 29, the same day that Florida and South Carolina are scheduled to vote. Still others in MIchigan want to move the primary up even earlier in an attempt to trump New Hampshire with whom Michiganders have long feuded about the nominating calendar. Whenever the vote happens, it will be an important test for the Republican field. Despite its population losses over the past few decades, Michigan remains a large state in the politically crucial middle of America. And, it is also a state where http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2007/07/endorsement_elite_michigan_rep.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2007/07/endorsement_elite_michigan_rep.html '08 Endorsement Elite Tue, 10 Jul 2007 06:00:00 -0400 The Fix is officially on vacation, but we couldn't resist offering our observations on the second-quarter fundraising figures released Sunday by the top Democratic campaigns. The $31 million collected by Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) over the last three months is an eye-popping figure. It's also $10 million more in primary funds than Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) collected over that same time. Former Sen. John Edwards (N.C.) raised $9 million for the quarter, roughly $2 million more than Gov. Bill Richardson (N.M.). When this race started it was widely assumed that Clinton would dominate the money chase. But that conventional wisdom has been upended as Obama has outraised Clinton in primary cash for the second straight quarter. Obama's success on the fundraising trail came even as Clinton rode high in national polls and was widely recognized as performing best of the top candidates in the three debates held during the http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2007/07/money_money_everywhere_1.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2007/07/money_money_everywhere_1.html Eye on 2008 Mon, 02 Jul 2007 08:15:22 -0400 Welcome to the second installment of The Fix's "Endorsement Elite" feature -- a look at the five most important endorsers in a series of states that set to hold presidential primaries or caucuses before or on February 5. Today we tackle the Republican side of the Florida presidential primary, which is set for Jan. 29. The biggest names in Sunshine State GOP circles -- former Gov. Jeb Bush and current Gov. Charlie Crist -- don't make our Elite list because no one we talked to who knows Florida politics believes either man will take sides in the primary. We deal in the politics of the possible here at The Fix so this list represents the most important endorsers who either have or have the potential to throw their political heft behind one of the candidates. (For more on the idea behind the Endorsement Elite and a look at the Florida http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2007/06/endorsement_elite_florida_repu.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2007/06/endorsement_elite_florida_repu.html '08 Endorsement Elite Thu, 14 Jun 2007 11:50:31 -0400 The many changes in the presidential primary and caucus calendar have fundamentally reshaped how each party will pick its nominee -- changes that the candidates (and the media) are still trying to figure out. Today is the first in an occasional series of looks at the five most important endorsements in the states set to hold primaries and caucuses shortly after the traditional lead-off troika of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. We call it the "Endorsement Elite." Why "elite"? Because not all endorsements are created equal. Every one of the states set to vote between Jan. 29 and Feb. 5 has hundreds upon hundreds of elected officials, labor bosses, cash collectors and other political Svengalis being courted by each of the campaigns on a daily basis. But for this feature, we are aiming to identify the cream of the crop -- the people or institutions who bring a candidate http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2007/05/the_endorsement_elite_florida_1.html http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2007/05/the_endorsement_elite_florida_1.html '08 Endorsement Elite Thu, 31 May 2007 09:34:59 -0400