“Political parties in the United States” on The Daily Caller

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele said Sunday that he “appreciates” high estimates for the number of seats the GOP may win Tuesday, but that he’s more focused on hitting the mark of 39 seats to take back the majority in the House of Representatives. (more)

There are fewer swing voters in 2010 than there have been in the past two midterm elections, according to a new Gallup poll released Thursday. (more)

The Democratic National Committee formally has asked the Pentagon for reams of correspondence between military agencies and nine potential Republican presidential candidates, a clear indication that Democrats are building opposition-research files on specific 2012 contenders even before the midterm elections. (more)

According to Wikipedia, fantasy is a genre that uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme and/or setting. I bring this up because we’ve been hearing quite a bit about a “Democratic surge” lately, and this is a quintessential example of political fantasy. While there has been some tightening in several races — a result of core Democratic voters returning to the fold that is typical as an Election Day approaches — the “surge” is a complete fabrication, fed and encouraged by a mainstream media searching for an interesting plotline for this election. (more)

Watching outside groups spend millions on the midterm elections has been a nightmare for a slew of campaign spending “watchdog” groups who fiercely advocated for legislation called the “Disclose Act” that would have restricted such spending in the wake of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision. (more)

Allen West is airing a new ad questioning incumbent Florida Democratic Rep. Ron Klein’s spending record in Congress. (more)

A top Republican House official is voicing an optimistic take on the coming midterm election, vowing that Democratic Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s “days as speaker are numbered” and saying the Republicans are “already” slated to win 40 seats, with many more within reach. (more)

In the final days before the midterm elections, Democratic Senate candidate and West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin doubled down on his opposition to parts of the health care law, legislation he supported when it was being debated in Congress last spring. (more)

WASHINGTON — A costly and polarizing Congressional campaign heads into its closing week with Republicans in a strong position to win the House but with Democrats maintaining a narrow edge in the battle for the Senate, according to a race-by-race review and lawmakers and strategists on both sides. (more)

It has been said over and over again: The 2010 midterm is the anti-incumbent, anti-Washington and by virtue of their position in power, the anti-Democratic election. (more)

More Republicans have cast early ballots than Democrats since early voting got underway Monday in Colorado–a state with one of this cycle’s tightest Senate contests. (more)

A majority of unaffiliated voters believe that members of Congress who voted for the healthcare bill, the stimulus plan, and the auto industry bailout should be voted out of office in November, a new poll shows. (more)

It’s a sound bite that just won’t die, and one Democrats plan to take to the grave this elections season: Republicans are only winning because their campaigns are flush with cash from secret donors. (more)

With the election a mere two weeks away, it would probably take a party-wide Republican scandal of Nixonian proportions to keep next year’s House in Democratic hands. (more)

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, struggling to keep Democrats in power in the upper chamber, raised $15.5 million in September. (more)

Is independent Tom Tancredo now becoming the de facto Republican candidate for governor of Colorado? He’s now moved to within four points of Democrat John Hickenlooper to turn the race into a toss-up. (more)

BULLITT County, Ky. — Meet the voters at the bi-annual Knob Creek machine gun shoot: They can’t stand Democrats, are weary of Republicans and are still reserving judgment of the Tea Party – at best. (more)

WASHINGTON – Republicans enjoy a substantial “enthusiasm gap” in which their supporters are more likely to vote in this fall’s elections for control of Congress than Democratic voters, according to a new McClatchy-Marist poll. (more)

Democrats have a mountain to climb in West Virginia. (more)

Last week, libertarian think tank the Cato Institute released its Fiscal Policy Report Card for governors. In the study, “governors are graded on their fiscal performance from a limited-government perspective,” earning points for tax cuts and spending cuts, and losing points for tax hikes and increased spending. (more)