James Carville Quotes

Middle class voters are the mega-prize in American politics.

I think people are going to have a choice to make in the fall. But I think there's no doubt there are enough seats in play that could cause Republicans to gain control. There's no doubt about that.

New Mexico has been, in the past, a swing state.

The Republicans always looked bad three years out of four. But the year they look good is election year.

The tactics and strategy of every Presidential election campaign is most influenced by the previous Presidential election.

Midwest elections have consequences.

One strange quality of writing about political campaigns is that it's a little like writing about a baseball game inning by inning. We presume we can say something about the final result from the state of play a third of the way through. You can when a game is a colossal blowout, but you can't when it's close.

I understand personally that it is frustrating to lose presidential elections by narrow margins.

Something very significant appears to be happening in America. There is a dramatic shift in voter affinity toward the GOP, and it may prove to be the mountain-too-high for Barack Obama's campaign.

If you are a Democrat, and you get less than 90% of the black vote, you are going to likely lose your election.

Incumbent White House parties have won 10 of the last 18 presidential elections; the odds are tight, but they favor Obama in 2012. And so gloomy Democrats, check your despair; gleeful Republicans, watch the hubris.

It's rare when a president wins the campaign without winning independents.

California is going to be quite good for the Democrats. But the rest of the country is a draw.

The exit polls suggest that after a relatively disappointing first term, Obama managed to reassemble almost all of his 2008 electorate.

Political elections are not life and death.

This could be a close election. I can pretty much tell which states are going to be close. If you would start two or three weeks before Election Day and saturate those critical states with [TV Advertising] spots, it could swing the election.

Smilin' for the Presidency

Presidential elections are always pocketbook elections.

Practical politics is the politics of the coming election.

Elections are won ... chiefly because most people vote against somebody rather than for somebody.

We have got to defeat Donald Trump, and we have got to elect Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine.

Michigan is a state we should have won in 2016, and we didn't, and I want to understand why.

I don't believe in the polls. I try to concentrate on the day of elections.

The framework of the election favors Donald Trump.

I still say save your money, don't waste your money or time running against Donald Trump in 2020 because you're not going to beat him.