Ken Rudin

Forget about 2012 presidential burnout. The 2016 campaign has already begun, at least according to what has been written in the past week about Jeb Bush's new book on immigration. Plus: Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) won't run again in 2014.

This pre-election Political Junkie column focuses on all presidential swing states and key races for House and Senate.

After three successive "wave" elections in the House, it looks like there will be little net change in 2012. And that means the Republicans are favored to retain the majority they won two years ago.

The race for the White House is not over. But with 6 weeks to go, Mitt Romney still trails in key battleground states he must win if he is to defeat President Obama.

With about 50 days to go before the elections, the battle for Senate control is still too close to call. To get a majority, Republicans need a net gain of 4 seats — 3 if the GOP wins the White House.

The Democratic convention seemed to have more enthusiasm, better speeches and greater emotion than its Republican counterpart. But Charlotte is over, and bad economic numbers are the new reality.

Yesterday, President Obama proposed a spending plan for the upcoming fiscal year that exceeds $3.5 trillion. NPR Political Editor Ken Rudin explains why the budget is so expensive and how Congress is expected to react.

A group of Republican governors say they may not accept federal funds from the federal stimulus packaged recently signed by President Obama, despite the current economic crisis. NPR's Ken Rudin explains the fallout.

Embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich named former State Atty. Gen. Ronald Burris yesterday as his pick to replace President-elect Barack Obama's vacant senate seat. Some see the move as a slap in the face to critics who want the governor to resign following allegations of corruption.

The Democratic Rules Committee agreed Saturday to seat delegates from the disputed Florida and Michigan primaries at the party's convention — but give them only half a vote each. The decision was supposed to help heal the party. But the opposite seems to have occurred, with angry supporters of Hillary Clinton promising to take their fight to the convention in Denver.