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Louis Jacobson

Louis Jacobson

Contributor

Louis Jacobson is the senior correspondent at the fact-checking website PolitiFact. He is also senior author of the 2016 and 2018 editions of the Almanac of American Politics and was a contributing writer for the 2000 and 2004 editions. For Governing, Jacobson has written a column on state politics since the 2010 election cycle, including handicapping gubernatorial, state legislative and state attorney general races. Before that, he wrote a similar column for Stateline.org and Roll Call. He has also handicapped state and federal races for such publications as the Cook Political Report, the Rothenberg Political Report, PoliticsPA.com and the Tampa Bay Times. Earlier in his career, Jacobson served as deputy editor of the congressional newspaper Roll Call, as the founding editor of its affiliate, CongressNow, and as a staff correspondent at National Journal. In 2014, he received the Weidenbaum Center Award for Evidence-Based Journalism from Washington University in St. Louis, and in 2017, the Society of American Business Editors and Writers gave him a Best in Business award for his economics coverage.

From the presidency down, each party is more likely to win elections at certain levels of government. Whether that’s good or bad depends on your political views.
Republicans' anti-immigration rhetoric is turning off Hispanic voters, yet they're better than Democrats at finding Hispanic candidates to climb the political ladder.
Based on 2014 elections, dynastic branding doesn't mean as much as it used too.
National organizations that represent states and localities are finding ways to keep partisanship out of their ranks.
While many Republican states have made efforts to repeal the education standards, Wyoming appears happy to move forward. How has Common Core thrived in such a solidly GOP state?
Despite holding far fewer seats overall, the Democrats have more governorships to defend than the Republicans.
In addition to being presidential battlegrounds, these states will host several other pivotal contests.
After more than a decade writing about the states, Louis Jacobson reflects on what he has discovered.
If history proves correct, then losing the presidency would help Democrats regain Congressional, gubernatorial and state legislative seats.
Governing rated three types of contests during the 2014 campaign cycle: gubernatorial races, state attorney general races, and control of the state legislatures.