Useful Electoral Links

What better way is there for me to provide all of you with hours of entertainment and information while keeping my typing to a minimum? Why, to give you an overview of a couple of the various links that are out there so that you might do your own research and form opinions about the various upcoming elections this fall!! This way, each of you can look into the campaigns you are most concerned about and I save myself the trouble of writing 10 pages on the Roskam-Duckworth race (IL-6) only to get asked why I'm ignoring the (arguably) nationally more significant Talent-McCaskill showdown* (MO-S), or why I don't think Kinky Friedman would make a good governor of Texas (the further demystification of American public office, generally, his policy on immigration, specifically, and the fact that I've read one of his books... for starters).

In my humble opinion, the best starting point for anyone following a particular race (or for aimlessly drifting state-by-state in search of a race to follow) is the New York Times 2006 Election Guide (log-in may be required). My only tip for newcomers to this interactive Senate, House, and Gubernatorial tour of the nation's campaigns is that when you click on a state you should scroll down for the information. This tip could save you hours of cursing your slow computer while staring at an unchanged U.S. map.

Next would be Politics1.com. This is not as user-friendly, and a lot of the national data will already be available at the NYT site, but Politics1 will still be around after the electoral hype is over, and it will give you access to state race links not available on the NYT site.

Recently brought to my attention, The Talking Points Memo can be a bit partisan (...just a bit), but gives interesting background details on races. This is an interesting stop when trying to learn about an unfamiliar race, but then again, it is still a blog... which seems like a good place to stop. After all, there are probably thousands of different sites purporting to do in-depth analysis of any and all campaigns and angles (relevant or not), and I don't think any of us really have the time for that...

* The NYT Guide lists Missouri (along with CT and OH) as "up for grabs". On Friday 9/8, President Bush's brief stop in Kansas City drew roughly 400 protesters and helped Republican Senator Jim Talent raise about $600,000. President Clinton appeared at a St. Louis pageant today, followed by a fundraising brunch for challenger Claire McCaskill. Organizers say Mr. Clinton's visit drew a million dollars in checks.