Bob Dole

Joseph Biden is the seventh vice presidential nominee from a state that borders New Jersey since William McKinley picked New York Gov. Theodore Roosevelt to run on his ticket in 1900, following the death of Vice President Garrett Hobart, a resident of Paterson.  New Jersey hasn’t cast its electoral votes for a border state VP candidate since U.S. Rep. James Sherman (R-Utica) ran with William Howard Taft in 1908.  New Yorkers Jack Kemp (1996), Geraldine Ferraro (1984), William Miller, (1964), and Franklin Roosevelt (1920) did not carry New Jersey when they ran with Bob Dole, Walter Mondale, Barry Goldwater and James Cox, respectively.   Sherman ran for re-election with Taft in 1912 (he died a few weeks before the election, but Taft decided not to replace him), but New Jersey supported favorite son Woodrow Wilson instead.

For a state that's easily the richest prize of electoral votes in presidential contests, California has rarely been a contender in recent years for selection of a vice presidential candidates.

One has to go back to 1952, when then-U.S. Rep. Richard Nixon was tapped from California to be Dwight D. Eisenhower's vice presidential running mate on the Republican ticket, for the last time a Golden State native was a major party's pick.

In January, U.S. Sen. Harry Reid (D-Searchlight) will have two years under his belt as Senate majority leader. There's no particular reason to suspect that his reign is nearing an end, but recent majority leaders have served short terms, and sometimes hit dead ends in their political careers.

U.S. Sen. Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) served for four years as majority leader and then walked away from the Senate. U.S. Sen. Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) was majority leader for two years before being defeated during his next re-election campaign. It's not a major concern yet, but like South Dakota, the Nevada media market is not terribly expensive, and could present a similar opportunity for Republicans under the right conditions.

After a total of five years, U.S. Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) resigned from the leadership post in the wake of a Strom Thurmond controversy. After less than two years as majority leader (the second time), U.S. Sen. Bob Dole (R-Kan.) left the Senate to run for president. After leading the Senate for six years, U.S. Sen. George Mitchell (D-Maine) chose not to run for re-election.

Former Lt. Gov. Michael Steele will help 1996 presidential candidate Bob Dole rally North Carolina Republicans on their state house steps this Wednesday.

The rally, titled 'Take Back Our State' is sponsored by the local chapter of Americans For Prosperity, who recently hired away GOP state director John Flynn to serve as counsel in their Washington D.C. offices.

Most would say with John McCain as the nominee, Arizona should not be in play in November. According to a recent web presentation by McCain campaign manager Rick Davis, that may not be the case. Arizona is counted as a swing state for McCain. In the last 50 years Arizona has voted for a total of one Democratic presidential candidate over a Republican. In 1996 Bill Clinton defeated Bob Dole by 2% in Arizona. Every other election has been in favor of the Republican. Then when you consider John McCain has never had a close U.S. Senate race, it would make sense if Arizona was a firm red state for McCain. If McCain needs to spend time shoring up Arizona, it could be a long November for both McCain and Republicans throughout the state.