There is nothing normal about tomorrow's election in Wisconsin. more ›

It's an election year, which means politicians make outlandish claims, from Mitt Romney loving grits to President Obama and his fondness for pie. more ›

While Illinois grapples with the fallout from the Scott Lee Cohen debacle (not to mention Jason Plummer's vast lack of experience and qualifications on the GOP ticket), Rhode Island voters will have the opportunity to support a candidate for the number two slot that stands for nothing. Literally. Rhode Island lawyer Bob Healey is running for Lt. Governor of that state on the Cool Moose Party ticket, and his platform is simple: abolish the office. If elected, Healey promises not to hire a staff, not take the salary, and eventually abolish the office, which absorbs $1 million of the state's budget annually. more ›

Remember how we lamented the low voter turnout in last week's primary elections? It seems last weeks low turnout was a new record low for a non-presidential primary. The CNC reports that the final turnout came in at 27.2 percent, beating the previous record low of 29.14 percent in 1958. James Warren laments more on this figure here. more ›

Langdon Neal, chairman of the Chicago Board of Elections, told the press last night, "We are headed for very low turnout today, we'll be lucky to get 30 percent." He also indicated that it could be below 24 percent, which he said, "would be embarrassing." As of this post, Neal can breathe a small sigh of relief as the Board of Elections is reporting a turnout of around 26 percent. Not that that's really any better. Democrats made up 90.7 percent of the city's vote, Republicans made up 8.8 percent, and Green party voters the final half percent. If these numbers hold, that means 74 percent of city voters don't get to complain about last night's results. more ›

Just a note: besides WBEZ's live chat and countless updates across our local television stations, we'll be here, keeping track of returns so come on by and share your thoughts as they stream in. We'll check in around 7:30 p.m. and hope you'll swing by then. more ›

It's Primary Day and already reports are coming in of an extremely low turnout. Not that low turnout's a surprise as that seems to be pretty standard. Still, we encourage you all to do your civic duty and vote. It's far too easy to get cynical about the voting process, especially here in Illinois, but remember that two state offices currently held by officials that weren't elected (Governor - Quinn, US Senate - Burris) are up for grabs. Not to mention the hotly contested Cook County Board President race. Don't take the opportunity to vote for granted. Read up on the candidates, check out your sample ballot, and see who got the endorsements. Polls are open til 7 p.m. tonight and we'll be here following the results. And if you're interested, Chicago Current says they'll be doing exit polling throughout the day. more ›

With yesterday's petitioning deadline come and gone and the deadline to petition challengers and withdraw from a race approaching next Monday, there's still just a teeny bit of positioning left to do for this February's primaries, but the races are starting to shape up. Luckily for us, WBEZ has a nice, concise breakdown of who's running for what. For instance, did you know that there were actually a few Republicans running for Cook County Board President, too? But seriously, the list is pretty comprehensive though we'll know more a week from now, especially as we await on which race U.S. Rep. Danny Davis will settle on. more ›

It seems there's a bit of a trouble with the scheduled dates of the special elections called to fill Rahm Emanuel's vacated seat in U.S. Congress. Cook County Clerk David Orr's office is required to allow 45 days between primary and election dates to allow absentee voters - including those in the military - to return their ballots. There are, however, only 35 days between the scheduled March 3 primary and April 7 election. Orr will go before a federal judge tomorrow and ask that his office be allowed to use ballots via fax and email in addition to regular mail so that the current dates, set by Gov. Rod Blagojevich, can stand. more ›

With the last primaries in this seemingly endless Democratic primary season finally over, Barack Obama took the stage in St. Paul MN to address supporters. "Tonight I can stand before you and say that I will be the Democratic nominee for president of the United States," Obama declared. Speaking to supporters in New York, Hillary Clinton congratulated Obama, while leaving the end of the nomination battle open. "Now the question is where do we go from here," Clinton said. “You know, I understand that a lot of people are asking, what does Hillary want? What does she want?” Clinton asked rhetorically, before answering “I want the nearly 18 million Americans who voted for me to be respected, to be heard and no longer to be invisible.” more ›

Yesterday's primaries in Ohio, Texas, Vermont and Rhode Island saw John McCain assume the mantle of the Republican presidential nominee, with commanding victories in all but Texas, and Mike Huckabee's announcement that he's withdrawing from the race. "It's now important that we turn our attention not to what could have been or what we wanted to have been, but now what must be -- and that is a united party," Huckabee told told supporters in Dallas. After it became clear that McCain would sweep all four races, Barack Obama called McCain to congratulate him on winning the nomination, adding that he was looking forward to facing the Arizona senator in the general election. more ›

It's quite possible that the fat lady will sing for Hillary Clinton tomorrow. Or not. Sometimes politics is like baseball: you never know what's going to happen. Voters in four states will make some pretty important decisions tomorrow: Will Clinton go on to Pennsylvania? Or will her campaign end tomorrow night in a series of defeats in big, critical states? Will Barack Obama assume the mantle of the presumptive Democratic nominee, and will the GOP get the fight they have been both anxious to begin and cautiously planning for? more ›

In a race that may be a precursor to the Ohio and Texas Democratic primaries in March, Barack Obama won a decisive victory in Wisconsin last night, leading Hillary Clinton by nearly 20 points. He also won Hawaii, taking over 75 percent of the vote in a state where he had campaigned as a "native son." His victories last night mark his ninth and tenth consecutive primary or caucus wins and put his pledged delegate count at 1,140. Clinton has 1,005 pledged delegates. When you add in committed superdelegates, Obama leads Clinton 1,301 to 1,239, with John Edwards's 26 delegates still in play. Chris Bowers at OpenLeft points out that Clinton has now surpassed Jessee Jackson's 1988 total of 1218 delegates. 1988 saw the highest number of delegates ever won by a Democrat who did not win the nomination. more ›

Is it possible to be the inevitable presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in America and not have the funds to carry on? That's a question that Hillary Clinton's campaign is facing after she loaned her campaign $5 million. Clinton's staffers are also working without pay, and she loaned her campaign $5 million last month. Shortly after the announcement yesterday, an email went out to her supporters asking for additional funds: more ›

John McCain won big in last night's Republican primaries, winning nine states and pushing his delegate count up to 559--not enough to win the nomination, but big enough to secure his standing as the front runner. Mike Huckabee got a boost last night as well, winning a string of upsets in the Southern states, enough to justify his continued candidacy. Mitt Romney, however, has bigger problems, winning only a handful of states, and with Huckabee still in, he won't get the one-on-one race he so desperately wanted. more ›

Who needs a drink after this year's primaries? Don't worry, with both Mardi Gras and Super Tuesday today, there's plenty going on around town where you can get your drink on, and watch the election returns. more ›

Today's the big day. Along with 24 other states, we're voting in Super Duper Tuesday. Up for grabs are 1688 pledged Democratic delegates, and 900 Republican delegates. Delegate-heavy states such as California, New Jersey, New York, Illinois and Georgia could play a deciding role in the outcome of both races. But with polling showing a tight Democratic race, and Obama working overtime to split votes in odd-numbered districts, tonight's results won't produce a nominee for the Democrats. more ›

While John McCain spent Super Bowl Sunday in Massachusetts, Mitt Romney made his pitch to the most reliably conservative county in Illinois. At a packed rally of several hundred people at the College of DuPage yesterday, he tried to convince voters here that he is the true conservative standard bearer. Romney vowed that as president he would "stand up for the principles of the Republican Party and to live in the house that Ronald Reagan built." more ›

With the race for the Democratic nomination showdown just days away, and polls showing Obama closing in on Clinton in key Super Duper Tuesday states, the Obama campaign made a huge ad buy during the Super Bowl in the Super Tuesday states, including Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Utah, Virginia and Washington, (but, alas, not Illinois) more ›

Thanks to Bill M, we know that it isn't just Chicagoists who read... Chicagoist. And if you are part of that select group of ex=pat Chicagoans who keep up with our city, you're probably interested in voting in the upcoming presidential primary. And now, for the first time, Democrats living abroad can vote in the upcoming presidential primary. Democrats Abroad, the official overseas branch of the party will hold a global presidential primary from Feb. 5 to 12. Americans living outside the US can vote in the Democratic primary via internet, fax, mail and in-person in 34 countries around the globe. (The Tribune says there are 100 countries, but the website managing the vote says 34.) To participate, you must join Democrats Abroad, register, and request a ballot from the last US state you lived in before February 1. more ›

Now that the Michigan primary is safely behind us, all eyes are focused on Nevada and South Carolina. For Democrats, who need at least 2,025 delegates to win the presidential nomination, Nevada's caucuses this Saturday offer 33 delegates. Not only is the nation looking at the Silver State, where early voting is a new experience for a mix of Latino, rural and urban voters, but so are the federal courts. Hillary Clinton has been polling well there, but Barack Obama has been endorsed by the state's largest union, the Culinary Workers. This endorsement is significant not only because it is the largest union in the state, but also because the state's Democratic party has opted to hold nine "at-large" caucuses, open to anyone within 2.5 miles of the Las Vegas strip, where the bulk of CWU members work. Intended to make voting easier for shift-workers in Nevada's casino industry, the move prompted a lawsuit by the Nevada Teachers Union. The lawsuit claimed that those voting in at-large precincts being held on the Strip would have too much weight compared with those voting at their polling places, infringes on the right to equal protection guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution, and violate state statute in the way they were drawn. more ›

If you're anything like Chicagoist, you're counting the days (only 382!) 'til Shrub is out and new leadership is in. And hey, America, let's not screw it up this time. more ›