Michele Bachmann’s Retirement

Congresswoman Michele Bachmann (R) of Minnesota (Photo Credit: Congressional Page-Congresswoman Bachmann)

Congresswoman Michele Bachmann announced that she will not be seeking re-election to Congress in 2014.  The former 2012 GOP Presidential candidate and winner of the 2011 Iowa Straw Poll for President, was considered to be a leader amongst Tea Party supporters. 

527 Organizations

The following ad is from the 2004 Presidential Election.  It is an important one since it was the first Presidential campaign cycle that employed the usage of 527 organizations.  These organizations come from a section of the tax code which allows groups to subsequently get involved in issue advocacy campaigns.  The organizations, however, cannot support a candidate.  They can only advocate against someone running for office.

In an earlier post, I mentioned that Super PACs are now more influential in political campaigns.  In their ads, Super PACs can advocate for or against candidates running for office.  They have surpassed 527 organizations in terms of their effectiveness.

Should there be a limit to what campaign ads can advocate?

Young Voters and the Republican Party

This table gives you an idea of how each age group voted in the 2008 and 2012 Presidential elections.  In both cases, Barack Obama did well with voters between the ages of 18-29.  With 18-29 year olds, both John McCain and Mitt Romney received less than 40 percent of the vote.  Some have said that the Republican Party has a problem connecting with younger voters.  Do you agree with that assessment?