Ken Rudin

After eight years of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Los Angeles voters will pick a, shall we say, more charismatically-challenged successor.

George McGovern, Arlen Specter, Warren Rudman, Dan Inouye ... just some of the political giants who died in 2012. This week's super-sized Political Junkie column is dedicated to their memory.

It's been a rough couple of weeks for John Boehner. He was all but shut out of the fiscal cliff deal, dissed by his own party, and suffered 12 GOP defections when re-elected as speaker. But did he emerge from all of this as a loser? It's not that simple.

The election is over. Or is it? Both sides look ready to start fighting again should President Obama nominate U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice to succeed Hillary Clinton as secretary of state.

In Political Junkie Ken Rudin's view, not since Jack Kennedy picked Lyndon Johnson has the choice of a running mate truly affected the outcome in November. The record for subsequent No. 2s is a bit mixed. Here's a scorecard.

It's too early to know what kind of a difference Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan will make to the GOP ticket. Still, there have been choices who have proved crucial. Here, the top five from the last half-century or so.

The way we elect a president necessitates that the candidates have to campaign only in the so-called "battleground states." Here is the list of the 10 states that will determine the November winner, and how they voted in the past.

Just as the Wisconsin recall election was portrayed as having national implications for November, many are saying that the message coming out of Tuesday's special election to replace Gabby Giffords goes far beyond Arizona.

A big day of politics on Tuesday, led by the effort to recall Republican Gov. Scott Walker in Wisconsin. Only two governors have been recalled in U.S. history.

Ron Paul knows he's not going to be the Republican nominee for president this year. Mitt Romney has it all but locked up. But Paul's supporters are flooding state conventions, getting elected as convention delegates ... and preparing for life after 2012.