CNN reports corruption was the number most important issue to voters who responded to exit surveys. Early Senate numbers (uncomfirmed and with caveats):
Democrats are leading in Rhode Island (+7), Virginia (+7), Pennsylvania (+15), Ohio (+14), New Jersey (+8), Montana (+9), Missouri (+2).
Republicans are leading in Tennessee (+4) and Arizona (+4).
Throughout this trip, we have seen the gas prices jump all over the map. They started high on the East Coast and have come down significantly in states that have tight races in 2006. Surprise, surprise, the GOP is playing politics with America’s gas prices.
Right now, we’re driving through Missouri and have noticed that the prices have dropped big time! Why? Sen. Jim Talent vs. Claire McCaskill.
A message to the GOP: if you can manipulate the price of gas in the battleground states, why don’t you help the rest of the country? Just an idea.
-Peter
Good morning, America. This morning we are waking up in Independence, MO. home of former President Harry Truman. We stumbled upon this place late last night as we pulled off of I-70 east to find a motel in which to crash.
It’s incredible that we spent 45 days heading west and only 5 going back east, but I guess that’s the way things work on the great American road trip.
Yesterday, we saw one of the greatest sites so far on the trip. I’ll let you see for yourself…
We just finished watching Bush’s Saturday morning radio address. It was pretty awful; the man is trying to pivot to the economy in the final days of the campaign. The war, in his mind, is only a political issue and therefore can be simply thrown to the side.
On Tuesday, voters around the country will send a clear message to Bush:
1. His Presidency is a failure.
2. The war in Iraq is a failure.
3. The era of unchecked Bush aggression is over.
And one quick note. Can someone please tell Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) to keep his mouth shut.
“It’s almost too good,” says Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., his party’s second-ranking House leader. “You sort of pinch yourself and say, ‘It can’t be this good.’ ”
We’re going to drive just as far as our little van can take us today. Check back for updates and photos from the road.
There’s blood in the water for Republicans. Adam Nagourney of the New York Times has a piece this morning outlining the Republicans’ new strategy for 2006: stop the bleeding! Republicans have historically had the financial advantage leading up to elections and this has allowed them to stay competitive and fight for all seats throughout the country.
Senior Republican leaders have concluded that Senator Mike DeWine of Ohio, a pivotal state in this year’s fierce midterm election battles, is likely to be heading for defeat and are moving to reduce financial support for his race and divert party money to other embattled Republican senators, party officials said.
The decision to effectively write off Mr. DeWine’s seat, after a series of internal Republican polls showed him falling behind his Democratic challenger, is part of a fluid series of choices by top leaders in both parties as they set the strategic framework of the campaign’s final three weeks, signaling, by where they are spending television money and other resources, the Senate and House races where they believe they have the best chances of success.
Republicans are now pinning their hopes of holding the Senate on three states — Missouri, Tennessee and, with Ohio off the table, probably Virginia — while trying to hold on to the House by pouring money into districts where Republicans have a strong historical or registration advantage, party officials said Sunday. Republicans also said they would run advertisements in New Jersey this week to test the vulnerability of Senator Robert Menendez, one of the few Democrats who appear endangered.
