Ken Rudin

An absolute pleasure running into so many old friends on Saturday at the meeting of the American Political Items Collectors in Tyson's Corner, Va.

Yes, such an organization exists. No, I was not the craziest person there. But the best part was learning that so many people there are diehard ...

It is remarkable how fast the issue of same-sex marriage has moved the American public. Of course, some long-time proponents will argue the opposite, that it has taken far too long for it to gain acceptance. And they say that there is no shortage of efforts around the country to ...

If any of you happen to see the "white smoke" in the next day or so, you should immediately know what that means: I've been once again using hallucinogens to come up with the new ScuttleButton puzzle.

ScuttleButton, of course, is that once-a-week waste of time exercise in which each ...

Contrary to what you read, everything politicians say and do don't necessarily always have to be only about 2016. Sometimes, really and truly, presidential calculations are not part of the conversation.

But regarding the coverage of Jeb Bush in the past week, it's hard to think anything else. Bush, of ...

Apologies for those on my Political Junkie/ScuttleButton mailing list who didn't get a notification last week about the new column and new puzzle. NPR has adjusted its e-mail server and my mass mailing from last week didn't see the light of day. I'm hoping the problem will be addressed this ...

For a city that thrives on huge controversies and breathtaking tremors, perhaps last week's mini-squabble over whether or not to invite Chris Christie to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) later this month is not what you would call a big deal. But the decision — not to invite ...

Once, the special election to succeed the disgraced Jesse Jackson Jr. in Illinois' 2nd District seemed impossible to handicap, especially with some two dozen or so candidates on the ballot. Thus, it became not so much a horse race discussion as a conversation dominated by concerns about race and guns. ...

Two gubernatorial contests — in New Jersey and Virginia — plus mayoral races in New York and Los Angeles head up the 2013 election calendar. Plus: Time to get rid of the Iowa straw po...

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.

In the past 35 years, there have been memorable moments in vice presidential debates, none greater than Lloyd Bentsen's "You're no Jack Kennedy" jab at Dan Quayle. But do they affect the election results?

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.

It's been 40 years since the break in at the Democratic National Committee. The scandal ushered in 91 new members of the House — mostly Democrats. Who exactly were the "Class of '74?" And what happened to them?

Geraldine Ferraro, a former New York congresswoman who became the first woman on a presidential ticket when Walter Mondale named her his running mate in 1984, has died at age 75.