Ken Rudin

Ken Rudin is NPR's Political Junkie. For most of the past 20 years, Rudin has been the eyes and ears of political coverage as political editor. Rudin focuses on all aspects of politics, from presidential elections with the primaries, national conventions, debates and general election, to the races for the House, Senate and state governors. He has analyzed every congressional race in the nation since 1984.

In 2011, Rudin added to his duties by becoming part of the network's StateImpact project. This local-national journalism initiative will add editorial resources and reporters to NPR member stations in all 50 states, to better inform the public about the impact that the actions of state governments has on citizens and communities. Rudin mentors and advises these reporters on covering the effects politics and politicians have on people.

In addition to his role with StateImpact, Rudin continues to contribute NPR's political coverage. Every Wednesday, he can be heard on Talk of the Nation in the "Political Junkie" segment. In his "Political Junkie" weekly column on NPR.org, Rudin previews the politics of the week, and delves into campaign history, strategy and trivia, including the popular ScuttleButton contest.

Rudin was a key player on the NPR team that won the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Silver Baton award for excellence in broadcast journalism in 2002 for coverage of campaign finance.

From 1983 through 1991, Rudin worked at ABC News, serving first as deputy political director and later as the off-air Capitol Hill reporter covering the House. He first joined NPR in 1991, as its first political editor. Rudin returned to NPR in 1998, after a three-year absence during which he was the managing editor of the Hotline, a daily political newsletter. He also wrote the "Political Graffiti" column for The Hill, a newspaper covering Capitol Hill.

A political junkie for many decades, Rudin has one of the most extensive collections of campaign buttons in the country, a collection that now surpasses 70,000 items. Rudin is a graduate of Pace University in New York.

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Election 2012
5:33 am
Mon November 12, 2012

Who Gets The Blame For The Romney Loss? The Tea Party Has A Theory

Originally published on Mon November 12, 2012 6:38 am

It was an election that, once upon a time, many thought was stacked in Mitt Romney's favor.

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Election 2012
8:08 am
Mon November 5, 2012

What To Look For On Election Day: The Battle For The White House & Congress

Originally published on Tue November 6, 2012 7:02 am

Tuesday, as those who follow politics probably know, is Election Day. The battle between President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney has been contentious, expensive, personal, illuminating, ugly, frustrating, petty, enlightening and, above all, long. And it is expected to be close.

This week's Political Junkie column is an attempt to guide you to what's at stake on Tuesday, both in the contest for the White House as well as the 33 Senate and 435 House seats on the ballot.

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It's All Politics
8:37 am
Sun September 23, 2012

Women Head For The Hill In Record Numbers

Credit Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images
U.S. Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York waves as she takes the stage at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., earlier this month.

Originally published on Sun September 23, 2012 11:43 am

More women are running for Congress this year than ever before. The 18 women running for the Senate break the previous record of 14, set two years ago. Also, there are 163 female candidates for House seats, more than the 141 who ran in 2004.

That gives this election season a Year-of-the-Woman ring to it, says The Center for American Women and Politics. The center's director, Debbie Walsh, offered some reasons in a press release:

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Political Junkie
4:28 pm
Tue September 4, 2012

Memorable Moments From Democratic Conventions Of The Past

Originally published on Tue September 4, 2012 9:31 am

Perhaps, when they think back to the Republican convention of 2012, it will be Clint Eastwood and his friend, the chair, that people will remember most.

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Election 2012
7:37 am
Sat August 11, 2012

Running Mate Scorecard: Ups And Downs Since 1964

Originally published on Sun August 12, 2012 12:32 pm

It will be a while before we know if presidential candidate Mitt Romney's pick of Rep. Paul Ryan to join the Republican ticket will be a plus or minus for his campaign.

In my view, not since Jack Kennedy picked Lyndon Johnson has the choice of a running mate truly affected the outcome in November. LBJ did, after all, help bring Texas to the Democratic fold in 1960. But the record for subsequent No. 2s is a bit mixed. Here's my scorecard:

1964

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Election 2012
7:29 am
Sat August 11, 2012

5 Vice Presidential Picks Who Were Key To Victory

Originally published on Sat August 11, 2012 10:09 am

There have been a number of instances in recent history where the choice of a vice presidential running mate was an important stepping stone toward winning in the fall.

Of course, it's much too early to know how much of a difference GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney's choice of Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan will make. In the meantime, here is my subjective list of the top five instances in the past half-century or so where a selection of a running mate was crucial to victory:

1. 1960: John Kennedy-Lyndon Johnson (D)

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Political Junkie
5:48 am
Mon August 6, 2012

The United States Of America ... All Ten Of Them

Originally published on Mon August 6, 2012 9:56 am

In 92 days, we will either re-elect President Obama or replace him with his Republican opponent, Mitt Romney. On paper, at least, voters in all 50 states and the District of Columbia will make that decision.

But if you look at the travel schedules and campaign budgets of Obama and Romney, it's clear that the 2012 election will be decided in only ten or fewer states.

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Political Junkie
10:54 am
Tue June 19, 2012

It's ScuttleButton Time!

Credit Ken Rudin's ScuttleButton 061912

Remember last week's ScuttleButton, where I warned the button faithful that it may not have been the most challenging of puzzles? Well, I'm happier with this week's offering. Either way, it doesn't really matter; President Obama says he will no longer deport those who complain about my button puzzles.

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Political Junkie
9:49 am
Tue June 19, 2012

The Watergate Class Of 1974: How They Arrived In Congress, How They Left

Originally published on Tue June 19, 2012 1:00 pm

The 40th anniversary of the June 17, 1972 break-in at the offices of the Democratic National Committee in Washington — the beginning of a wide-ranging scandal known as Watergate — was widely observed (and, by some, celebrated) on Sunday in a slew of articles about what it really meant.

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Political Junkie
12:00 pm
Tue June 12, 2012

It's ScuttleButton Time!

Credit Ken Rudin's ScuttleButton 061212

There are two kinds of ScuttleButton puzzles.

There's the kind where you wrack your brain trying to figure it out, taking the buttons and looking at them every which way until you come up with the answer, happy with yourself that you solved it and appreciative that I came up with something so devilishly challenging.

Or, there's this week's.

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