Watchdog Radio: Democrats drubbed in elections, so what comes next for GOP?

By Eric Boehm, Matt Kittle | Watchdog Radio

Tuesday’s midterm elections were a shellacking for Democrats, as Republicans seized control of the U.S. Senate and won gubernatorial races from state to state.

This week, Watchdog Radio’s Eric Boehm and Matt Kittle take a look back at the election to find an explanation for the Republican wave.

Then, we look ahead to the coming two years. What state policies will move to the forefront in GOP-controlled state governments and what do these results mean for presidential candidates in 2016?

All that and more on this edition of Watchdog Radio.

Part 1: Boehm and Kittle are joined by national reporter Katie Watson to review the election results from Tuesday, including the Republican take-over of the U.S. Senate and a look ahead to the Louisiana run-off election.

http://watchdog.org/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2014/11/110714WatchdogRadio1.mp3

Part 2: Geoff Pallay, director of strategic projects for Ballotpedia and the Lucy Burn Institute, stops by the show to talk about gubernatorial races and the Republican wave in state legislative offices around the country. In addition to winning unlikely governor’s races in Illinois, Massachusetts and Maryland, the GOP swept into power in nine legislative chambers while Democrats expanded their majority in just a single place: the Oregon state Senate.

http://watchdog.org/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2014/11/110714WatchdogRadio2.mp3

Part 3: Ken Ward, national reporter for Watchdog.org, joins Boehm and Kittle to look ahead to the last two years of the Obama administration. One of the first major issues facing the lame duck president: pick a replacement for outgoing Attorney General Eric Holder.

http://watchdog.org/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2014/11/110714WatchdogRadio3.mp3

Part 4: Boehm and Kittle talk about the hope for additional government reforms in states like Ohio and Wisconsin, where voters re-elected Republican governments after four years of battles with public sector unions. Voters in Illinois anointed Republican Bruce Rauner, who promises to do much of the same, in a state that desperately needs reform.

http://watchdog.org/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2014/11/110714WatchdogRadio4-1.mp3