Local Elections

by Jim Tankersley WOODBRIDGE, Va. -- For most of this decade, even when polls looked gloomy, Republicans entered Election Day with a swagger from their not-so-secret weapon: a voter turnout machine powerful enough to swing close races. Democrats have...

Ex-Detroit mayoral candidate Freman Hendrix says he's running again. The one-time deputy mayor told WWJ-AM Sunday he's entering the Feb. 24 special mayoral primary. Kwame Kilpatrick won re-election in 2005 over Hendrix but resigned last month as part of...

A federal judge said he will decide Monday whether to open early voting centers in Lake County's largest cities -- sites Democrats have requested but Republicans want to block. U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen said he will determine...

Citing discontent with the governor and gridlock in Springfield, grassroots groups and frustrated politicians are asking voters to use their right to change the state constitution. Every two decades Illinois voters get the chance to decide whether to...

American flags flutter merrily in this sleepy town, and you can get a mean tenderloin sandwich at one of its three eateries. But don't expect to find much talk about politics in the birthplace of the modern political campaign. Only a handful of campaign...

Harford County residents are registering to vote in record numbers, often as many as 500 daily in the days preceding the registration deadline at 9 p.m. Tuesday. The heightened interest has officials predicting an unprecedented 90 percent turnout on Nov....

James Massey, director of the Harford County Board of Elections, typically carries voter registration forms with him. They came in handy last week when he went to the barbershop. Before his trim was complete Thursday, he had given out all the forms -...

Because development is big business in Howard County and generates tax revenue, elected officials pay attention when the industry is hurting. After complaints from builders about how long it takes to get projects through the county review process, County...

It is said that political campaigns spend big money to put lies and distortions on television because they work. We say we don't like it, but the political pros just smile. Watching the mud fly has become a kind of guilty pleasure. In the latter stages...

John C. Maingot is the main man in Longwood. The Florida League of Cities has selected Maingot, mayor from 2006 to 2008, as one of six finalists for its Mayor of the Year Award. Among his rivals: Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer. According to a statement, Maingot...

John Masiarczyk, Deltona's first mayor, is hoping to also be its third mayor. Masiarczyk was at the city's helm from 1995, when it first incorporated, to 2005, after he was term-limited out of office. Since Mayor Dennis Mulder took over, Masiarczyk...

Leaving office Nov. 14, Orange County Commissioner Teresa Jacobs is preparing for the political afterlife by taking a consulting job with a group that advises, what else, governments. The term-limited politician is working part time for the John Scott...