The seesaw in Maryland's Senate race is echoed in the race for Governor. As in the Senate campaign, support for Democratic candidates bulged in November during a politically rough time for Republicans nationally, but has now slackened.
Maryland is proving to be another state to watch in an election year many have predicted will see nationwide gains for Democrats.
Sixty-eight percent (68%) say Alito is likely to be confirmed and serve on the Supreme Court, including 43% who say he is very likely to be confirmed. Thirty-nine percent (39%) of Americans now say Alito should be confirmed.
The race to succeed Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack remains one to watch. Congressman Jim Nussle, the likely Republican nominee, captures at best 42% of the vote against any one of four possible Democratic opponents.
Republican Senator Conrad Burns has lost a double-digit lead against the two Democrats most prominently vying for the right to square off against him in November.
Rhode Island Senator Lincoln Chafee (R) does not break through the 50% level of voter support when matched against two potential challengers in a Rasmussen Reports Election Poll.
The first Hillary Meter of 2006 shows a more positive perception of New York's Junior Senator than any survey conducted in 2005.
For the first time ever, fewer than 40% of Americans view Clinton as politically liberal. Thirty-nine percent (39%) now see her as liberal while 38% say moderate. Last January, 51% of Americans viewed the former First Lady as liberal. (see trends).
Vermont Governor Jim Douglas has a 23-percentage point lead in his bid for re-election. The latest Rasmussen Reports election poll shows Douglas earning 54% of the vote while former state Senator Scudder Parker attracts 31%.
For a while, Kay Bailey Hutchison flirted with the idea of challenging Texas Governor Rick Perry in a Republican Primary battle that had the potential to be nasty intra-party fight.
A couple of weeks ago, it seemed like Texas Governor Rick Perry might have weathered the intra-party storm. Perry led State Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn by large margins in Republican Primary polling and there were no Democrats likely to beat him one-on-one in the red state of Texas.
Congressman Bernie Sanders, Vermont's only member in the U.S. House of Representatives, is off to a good-start in his bid to represent Vermont in the U.S. Senate.
Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue (R) starts off the New Year with a 65% Job Approval Rating and a double digit lead over two challengers in his re-election bid.
Democratic Congressman Ted Strickland enjoys a four-to-sixteen point lead over possible Republican opponents in the Ohio governor's race, according to our first survey to include all three Republican candidates to emerge to date. (Deadline to file in the primaries is February 16.)
Ohio Senator Mike DeWine has eked out a narrow lead over both potential Democratic opponents in his re-election effort, but the race remains hotly competitive.
As the Jeb Bush era winds down in Florida, the race to replace him as Governor is a toss-up. Match-ups involving two Republicans and two Democrats contending for the job show that nobody has a clear advantage at the beginning of 2006.
Senator Bill Nelson (D) of Florida holds a 23-percentage point lead over Congresswoman Katherine Harris in his bid for re-election.
For the third straight time in a Rasmussen Reports election poll, Democrat Maria Cantwell leads Republican Mike McGavick by fifteen percentage points.
Americans are generally comfortable with the current balance between national security concerns and individual liberties.
In the Missouri Senate race, Democrat Claire McCaskill leads Republican Jim Talent by three percentage points.
Views on Immigration by State - January 2006
