WFPL's reporters are everywhere, gathering news and information about this year's elections. Check here for information on the contests for Congress (Kentucky and Indiana), the Kentucky General Assembly, Metro Council, Jefferson County School Board.
The New York Times published an op-ed by poet Maurice Manning yesterday on his understanding of conservatism. In the essay, the Kentucky native and Washington County resident explains how he exercises his conservative values through his work on his farm and in his rural community:
NPR recently set out to explore an often over-looked segment of the American public -- those who can vote, but choose not to. The story provided brief explanations from several non-voters across the country. The people NPR talked to had a variety of reasons for not participating: a sense that their vote doesn't matter, a belief that money dictates policy more than votes -- and the knowledge that registering increases your chances of being called for jury duty.
In the race for the Louisville Metro Council District 26 seat, Democratic incumbent Brent Ackerson and Republican challenger Sarah Provancher are trading jabs in the final days of the campaign.
The two candidates released a series of mailers this weekend, including attack ads that questioned each other’s qualifications.
Ackerson’s mailer asks voters: "Would you elect somone who doesn't even vote?" It alleges that Provancher has only voted in 20 percent of elections since 2006, and missed last year's gubernatorial contest altogether.
Provancher said that like most Americans she does not have a perfect voting record on each election, but she is running to improve neighborhoods and city services.
Before that poll was released, Mourdock was focusing on his small government policies and the attack on the U.S. consulate in Libya, while trying to keep distance from his controversial comments about rape pregnancies.
I talked to Mourdock about those remarks, working with the next president and why he thinks the Beghazi attack is being overlooked.
How Kentucky and Indiana side in the presidential election appears to be a foregone conclusion -- both states are likely to side with Republican challenger Mitt Romney, according to forecasters. But the states have races aplenty to watch on the state and local level.
A Jefferson Circuit Court Judge will wait until after Election Day to decide whether Republican state Senate candidate Chris Thieneman is an eligible candidate.
Judge Charles Cunningham Jr. issued an opinion Friday that asked for more evidence from both parties in a lawsuit alleging Thieneman is not a legal resident in the 37th Senate District, which covers part of southwest Louisville.
There are no statewide races on the ballot in Kentucky this year: no Senate contests, no constitutional offices. But there are tight contests peppered throughout the commonwealth. Republicans are trying to take control of the state House this year. They need 10 seats to do so.
Originally published on Wed December 19, 2012 4:36 pm
Campaign reporters spend a lot of time pointing at color-coded electoral maps like the one below, showing which states voted for Republican John McCain (in red) and Democrat Barack Obama (in blue) in 2008.
But these maps lie — visually speaking.
Red appears to be the clear winner, dominating a vast swath from the South to the Rockies. It's all geographically accurate, but electorally skewed. For example, Montana (three electoral votes) dwarfs Massachusetts (which had 12 electoral votes in 2008).
With four days until the general election a new independent poll shows Democrat Joe Donnelly with a double-digit lead over Republican Richard Mourdock in the Indiana Senate race.
The survey conducted by Howey Politics Indiana and DePauw University has Donnelly up by 11 points, which is a significant jump from the 2-point lead that the Democratic congressman held in the same poll two months ago.
Observers point to Mourdock's controversial comments on rape pregnancies as the culprit for his plummeting polls numbers.
