What Makes Us Politic

President Obama's speech last night contained a series of economic proposals. Here's how the data and research back up or complicate his claims.

President Obama made a lot of promises during yesterday's State of the Union address. Going by past results, he'll probably accomplish some of them.

Fielding candidates in unfavorable districts might seem like a waste of precious resources to a party—and most of the time, it is—but it's also a responsibility.

Having a decent number of staffers available gives state legislators a better ability to make competent, independent decisions and to resist the influence of other actors.

The recent Colorado race raises questions about how Bannock Street Project tactics could hold up in future contests.

A few brief lessons from the year. In many cases, these aren't necessarily new things; 2014 just served as a very effective reminder.

Is there something to the idea that a politician who no longer faces re-election is free to pursue new policy solutions without needing to kowtow to special interests?

And this is the most exciting part.

Not very, but more so than it used to be. A story in three charts.

Every important movement faces significant push-back; that doesn't mean it won't succeed.

Despite the usual array of punditry, there's not much President Obama could have done in the weeks leading up to the recent mid-terms to change the outcome.

If the economy in 2016 is where it was in 2012 or better, Democrats will likely retain the White House. If not, well....

Voters, it seems, are willing to forgive—over and over again—dishonest yet beloved politicians if they think the job is still getting done.

The limbo that Puerto Rico has existed in for more than a century was never meant to be permanent. Could Congress finally be getting around to naming our 51st state?

It is still, by far, the most reliable campaign method of actually getting someone to turn out to vote.

A few lessons from Colorado's Governor John Hickenlooper, one of the only purple state Democratic governors to win re-election last week.

Looking at the historical data, we can tell that voters do not seem to punish a party for running a gridlocked Congress in the next presidential election.

As Election Day approaches, a reminder that polling, while generally quite reliable, has a few blind spots.

A data scientist's mathematical models predict a national rise of bong smoke.

The overall rate of illegal immigration has actually decreased significantly in the last 10 years. The time is ripe for immigration reform.

Will voters blame President Obama—and punish Democrats in the upcoming mid-term elections—for a climate of fear?

And that's a much bigger deal than whether or not a few seats shift in the House of Representatives.

If Nate Silver tells you that one candidate has a 90 percent chance of winning, why bother to vote?

On the value of campaign finance disclosure.