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Upon securing the Republican presidential nomination earlier this year, several commentators noted that Donald Trump was realigning American politics. Through that realignment, economic nationalism, less intervention in foreign affairs, and restrictions on immigration could define the Republican Party. If Trump loses the election, a key question will be whether his platform will continue in the Republican Party or elsewhere. If somewhere else, one potential outlet for his supporters may be the

In a presidential election with record-setting unfavorable ratings for both major parties' nominees, no small number of people will be voting against a candidate instead of for the candidate whose name they check on the ballot. Many are calling this election the ultimate choice between "the lesser of two evils." In fact, that very phrase was repeated over and over again when CNN went on a tour through two major swing states, Ohio and Florida, to talk to voters about their concerns and motivatio

Last Monday, FairVote released our 2016 general election presidential campaign tracker. This tracker, which has been regularly used this fall by National Popular Vote, looks at where major party candidates for president and vice-president have been rallying their supporters at events that are open to the public, free and intended to influence local voters. Our data for the tracker is based on local news reports and the campaigns’ public schedules. As anyone familiar with current Electoral Colle

With only a few short days left in this presidential election cycle, it's always interesting to look at the political axioms, however odd or strange, to see how each candidate is doing. While these axioms are not by any means determinants of the election, some have political insight -- while others are absurdly fun to consider. 1. High Prices at the Pump Hurt the Incumbent Party This is more of a new political axiom, for decades the prices of oil and gasoline held steady or at least paced wi

© 2016 by reclaimtheamericandream.org. The article was written by Hedrick Smith, executive editor of reclaimtheamericandream.org. Washington –  Super PACs are once again breaking records  – topping $1.1 billion – but there’s a new wrinkle. Instead of aiming their main financial artillery at the presidential race, Super PACs, political parties and outside donors have committed more than half a billion dollars to the battle for control of the Senate – more money than they’re spending on the race

America as an idea cannot be understood apart from the guarantees the Framers adopted in Philadelphia, as they embodied the very foundation of our republic and its attendant freedoms and are inextricably linked to the First Amendment of the Constitution: “ But that was then and this is now and things have changed – and if Mr. Jefferson or Mr. Justice Brandeis were alive today, they might wish to revise their idea of a free and “almost holy” press. But if the press has been the guarantors of o

RNC Chair Reince Priebus is going all in on Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and he wants to make sure any Republican with ambitions of a political future does as well. Making an appearance on CBS's Face the Nation, Priebus hinted at possible "penalties" for former GOP presidential candidates who do not uphold their pledge to support the GOP nominee. “If they’re thinking they’re going to run again some day, I think that we’re going to evaluate the process of the nomination process,

It goes without saying that the Republican Party’s nomination of Donald Trump, a high-profile businessman with no experience holding elected office, for the presidency has been the most discussed development in American politics this year. News coverage of Mr. Trump’s primary victory eclipsed even that of the first major-party presidential nomination of a woman, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. However, even as ocean waves can sometimes be accompanied by dangerous rip currents, the en

This article is Part 2 in a two-part series reviewing Supreme Court ballot access decisions and the effects of the Court's precedents on independent and third party candidates. You can read Part 1 here. Munro v. Socialist Workers Party (1986) In 1986, the Court accepted a challenge to a Washington state ballot access provision. This provision required third party candidates to receive at least one percent of the vote in the state's blanket primary in order to appear on the general election ba

Ballot Access in Historical Context Over the last several decades, the percentage of Americans who self-identify as independents has climbed to above 40 percent while attachment to the Democratic and Republican parties has declined. And in recent months, broad dissatisfaction with the presidential nominees of both parties has caused the public to look to third party and independent options to find candidates who better represent their views. Yet despite this shift in support, third party and i