Jay Cost

Last updated
Jay Cost
Nationality American
Education University of Virginia (BA)
University of Chicago (MA, PhD)
Occupation(s)Political pundit, blogger
Employer(s)The Weekly Standard, National Review
Political party Republican (before 2016)
Independent (2016–present) [1]
Website The Weekly Standard

Jay Cost is an American conservative political historian, journalist, and elections analyst, [2] who writes for The Weekly Standard and National Review. Cost previously wrote "HorseRaceBlog" at RealClearPolitics. [3] Cost has written widely on the Founding and civic virtues, political parties, and the influence of big business in American politics, and is the author of the upcoming The Price of Greatness: Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and the Creation of American Oligarchy as well as the earlier A Republic No More and Spoiled Rotten.

Contents

Personal life and education

Cost received a B.A. in Government from the University of Virginia, as well as an M.A. and Ph.D in political science from the University of Chicago. [4] Cost served in the past as a part-time professor at Robert Morris University and Grove City College. [5]

Career

In 2005, while working on his dissertation at the University of Chicago, Cost joined the staff of RealClearPolitics. Cost became a writer for The Weekly Standard in 2010. [3] Although his education background is in political science, Cost claims that he has come to rely more on his reading of the history of American elections than on political science and public opinion polling. [6] In 2012 Cost released a book, Spoiled Rotten: How the Politics of Patronage Corrupted the Once Noble Democratic Party and Now Threatens the American Republic, in which Cost argued that the Democratic Party has been taken over by interest groups. [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] Barack Obama ultimately won the election, and PPP's Tom Jensen and New York Magazine's Jonathan Chait criticized Cost's skepticism of the polls. [12] [13] He left the Republican Party in 2016 when the party refused to prevent Donald Trump from obtaining the nomination at the convention. [1]

Related Research Articles

The lesser of two evils principle, also referred to as the lesser evil principle and lesser-evilism, is the principle that when faced with selecting from two immoral options, the least immoral one should be chosen. The principle is most often invoked in reference to binary political choices under systems that make it impossible to express a sincere preference for one's favorite.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2008 United States presidential election</span> 56th quadrennial U.S. presidential election

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Politics in Chicago through most of the 20th century was dominated by the Democratic Party. Organized crime and political corruption were persistent concerns in the city. Chicago was the political base for presidential nominees Stephen Douglas (1860), Adlai Stevenson II, and Barack Obama, who was nominated and elected in 2008.

RealClearPolitics (RCP) is an American political news website and polling data aggregator. The site was formed in 2000 by former options trader John McIntyre and former advertising agency account executive Tom Bevan. It features selected political news stories and op-eds from various news publications in addition to commentary and original content from its own contributors. RCP receives its most traffic during election seasons and is known for its aggregation of polling data. In 2008, the site's founders said their goal was to give readers "ideological diversity", although in recent years it has become more associated with conservatism and the political right.

Rasmussen Reports is an American polling company founded in 2003. The company engages in political commentary and the collection, publication, and distribution of public opinion polling information. Rasmussen Reports conducts nightly tracking, at national and state levels, of elections, politics, current events, consumer confidence, business topics, and the United States president's job approval ratings. Surveys by the company are conducted using a combination of automated public opinion polling involving pre-recorded telephone inquiries and an online survey. The company generates revenue by selling advertising and subscriptions to its polling survey data.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barack Obama 2008 presidential campaign</span> Successful presidential campaign of then-U.S. Senator

Barack Obama, then junior United States senator from Illinois, announced his candidacy for president of the United States on February 10, 2007, in Springfield, Illinois. After winning a majority of delegates in the Democratic primaries of 2008, on August 23, leading up to the convention, the campaign announced that Senator Joe Biden of Delaware would be the vice presidential nominee. At the 2008 Democratic National Convention on August 27, Barack Obama was formally selected as the Democratic Party nominee for president of the United States in 2008. He was the first African American in history to be nominated on a major party ticket. On November 4, 2008, Obama defeated the Republican nominee, Senator John McCain of Arizona, making him the president-elect and the first African American elected president.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Convention bounce</span>

A convention bounce or convention bump refers to an increase in support that U.S. presidential candidates in the Republican or Democratic party typically enjoy after the televised national convention of their party. A presumptive nominee for president may also be said to experience a "VP bounce" after announcing his or her pick for vice president prior to the convention. The size and impact of convention bumps vary, but presidential candidates usually see at least a small uptick in their polling numbers coming out of their conventions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 United States presidential election</span> 57th quadrennial U.S. presidential election

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">2008 United States presidential election in Nevada</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">2008 United States presidential election in Virginia</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">2008 United States presidential election in New Mexico</span>

The 2008 United States presidential election in New Mexico took place on November 4, 2008. Voters chose five representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2008 United States presidential election in Arkansas</span>

The 2008 United States presidential election in Arkansas took place on November 4, 2008, and was part of the 2008 United States presidential election. State voters chose six representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2008 United States presidential election in Georgia</span>

The 2008 United States presidential election in Georgia took place on November 4, 2008. Voters chose 15 representatives, or electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 United States presidential election in Iowa</span>

The 2012 United States presidential election in Iowa took place on November 6, 2012, as part of the 2012 United States presidential election in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia participated. Iowa voters chose six electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote pitting incumbent Democratic President Barack Obama and his running mate, Vice President Joe Biden, against Republican challenger and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and his running mate, Congressman Paul Ryan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 United States presidential election in Colorado</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 United States presidential election in Virginia</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">2008 United States presidential election in New Hampshire</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Efforts to impeach Barack Obama</span> Talks and activities of attempted approaches into a possible impeachment of Barack Obama

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 Washington gubernatorial election</span>

The 2016 Washington gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 United States presidential election in Iowa</span>

The 2016 United States presidential election in Iowa was held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016, as part of the 2016 United States presidential election in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia participated. Iowa voters chose electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote, pitting the Republican Party's nominee, businessman Donald Trump, and his running mate Indiana Governor Mike Pence against the Democratic Party nominee, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and her running mate Virginia Senator Tim Kaine. Iowa has six electoral votes in the Electoral College.

References

  1. 1 2 "Ep. 49: Identity Politics Yahtzee". 2018-07-10. Retrieved 2018-07-11.
  2. Frederick, Don; Andrew Malcolm (9 March 2008). "The only sure bet: A senator will win". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
  3. 1 2 Cost, Jay (31 August 2010). "Farewell!". RealClearPolitics. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  4. "Jay Cost". Amazon. Retrieved 30 September 2013.
  5. "Jay P. Cost". Robert Morris University. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  6. Foster, Daniel (5 November 2012). "Chomsky on Nate Silver and Jay Cost". National Review Online. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  7. "Have Democrats Lost Sight of Their Founding Principle?". PBS. 23 August 2012. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  8. Cost, Jay (19 April 2012). "Morning Jay: Obama the Underdog". The Weekly Standard. Archived from the original on April 20, 2012. Retrieved 2 October 2013.
  9. Cost, Jay (20 July 2012). "Morning Jay: Are the Polls Skewed Toward Obama?". The Weekly Standard. Archived from the original on July 22, 2012. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  10. Cost, Jay (8 August 2012). "Weekly Standard: It's Romney's Race To Win". NPR. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
  11. Plumer, Brad (5 November 2012). "Pundit accountability: The official 2012 election prediction thread". Washington Post. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
  12. Zengerle, Jason (7 November 2012). "The Polls Ultimately Ended Up Making Sense – But Next Time, Who Knows?". New York Magazine. Archived from the original on 30 December 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
  13. Chait, Jonathan (17 April 2014). "Why the New Data Journalism Really is Partisan". New York Magazine. Retrieved 5 May 2014.