Hankster News of the Day for Independent Voters - July 11

RISE OF INDEPENDENTS

• More Arizona voters going independent (by Alex Stuckey, The Republic) Of the 3.1 million registered voters in Arizona, about 36 percent are Republican, about 30 percent are Democrats and about 33 percent are independents, according to the report.
• Independent Voter Surge Cuts Democrats’ Swing State Edge (By John McCormick, Bloomberg) The collective total of independents grew by about 443,000 in Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire and North Carolina since the 2008 election, according to data compiled by Bloomberg from state election officials. During the same time, Democrats saw a net decline of about 480,000 in those six states, while Republicans -- boosted in part by a competitive primary earlier this year -- added roughly 38,000 voters in them, the analysis shows.
• Analysis: Independents jump in key swing states (By Catalina Camia, USA TODAY) In the 2008 election, Obama won 52% of the independent vote, according to surveys of voters as they left their polling places. He and Republican John McCain both handily won the vote of their party faithful, but the exit polls show it was the independents that made the difference.
• Swing states poll: Amid barrage of ads, Obama has edge (By Susan Page, USA TODAY) To be sure, Obama's ads have done more to win back Democrats than to win over independents or Republicans: Thirteen percent of Democrats say their minds have been changed by ads, compared with 9% of independents and 3% of Republicans.

NEW YORK POLITICS
Working Families Party Begins to Weigh in on City Council Races (By Colin Campbell, NY OBSERVER/Politicker) With a huge number of term-limited council members leaving open seats behind them, control of the Council’s powerful speakership hangs in the balance, creating a possible opportunity for the WFP to secure the position for a labor ally if they can win enough of these races. Which is likely why they’re weighing in so early.