Ron Elving

After six months of wrangling on various TV stages, the seven Republican presidential candidates who met in Manchester, N.H., Saturday night finally produced A Moment.

The sharp exchange between Marco Rubio and Chris Christie near the beginning of the ABC News event cast a sudden shadow on Rubio's bright ...

Before they got down to debating the big issues Thursday night, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders wrangled over one big word: progressivism.

Which of them was the true progressive? Was Clinton a progressive at all?

Sanders has long billed himself as a progressive, also describing himself as a "democratic socialist." ...

The fifth debate between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders was their first appearance as a duet, and that helped to highlight some of their harmony – even as it heightened their crescendos of dissonance.

With Martin O'Malley having suspended his campaign earlier in the week, the two remaining rivals for ...

Iowa has once again proved its perennial resistance to political inevitability and the power of personality.

In this year's iteration of the Iowa caucuses, national polling leaders Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton had their campaign momentum slowed in significant ways by party activists who preferred their rivals.

A big win ...

The Iowa caucuses are known for hoisting the little-known hopeful to glory. But for each skyrocket that actually launched here, many more have fizzled on the pad.

The slick talkers auditioning for media gigs.

The household name whose prominence fails to translate.

The ambitious up-and-comer seeking name recognition for the ...

As any bridge player can tell you, the game is different when there is no trump.

On Thursday night in Des Moines, Iowa, the seventh debate among major candidates for president in the Republican Party set a new standard in both substance and tone. And it did so because the ...

Entering the last week of campaigning before the voters start to weigh in, some candidates may be preparing to cast a loss in the Iowa caucuses as not such a bad thing.

Hillary Clinton has a vision, which some would call a fantasy, of Washington working again the way it once did.

"I'm interested in us solving problems together," said Clinton, speaking Wednesday to NPR's Ari Shapiro.

"I'm interested in finding good ideas whether they're from Republicans or Democrats, getting people around ...

Hillary Clinton encountered rougher seas Sunday night in her latest meeting with her rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination. Both Sen. Bernard Sanders and former Gov. Martin O'Malley questioned her veracity and intensified their criticism of her policy positions and campaign financing.

This was the last time these candidates will ...

Donald Trump did not dominate the sixth debate among the most prominent Republican candidates for president, but he may have been its prime beneficiary.

Trump held his own through an evening of challenges from the FOX Business Network moderators and from six rivals with him on stage. There were plenty ...

It was perhaps fitting that the most memorable passage of President Obama's final State of the Union speech should come near its end.

After nearly an hour on the podium, Obama paused and slipped into a mode more suited to a pulpit. In the next few minutes, the president tried ...

Eighth-year reports, like the one President Obama will deliver this week, have carried a special portent and the opportunity for a president to address his own record and the direction of the country.

President Obama delivers his final State of the Union of his presidency on Tuesday. The Republican presidential candidates are already preparing their attacks.

What to expect when President Obama delivers his final State of the Union on Tuesday, from NPR's Ron Elving.

With five weeks to go before the Iowa primaries, we learn more about the state of play in the GOP presidential field. When you think about it, the primaries are a lot like football playoffs.

'Twas the Night Before Christmas, Or A Virtual Visit From St. Marco

With apologies to Clement Clarke Moore, who first published his version 192 years ago today.

'Twas the night before Christmas and all through the land
Not one candidate spoke — no, not even Rand.
Not a voice could ...

Not many minutes had passed in Saturday night's Democratic presidential debate before the issue that was expected to supply some drama had been raised, addressed and dismissed.

Sen. Bernie Sanders apologized for his staffer who downloaded data that belonged to the campaign of Hillary Clinton. Sanders apologized to his ...

The Bernie Sanders campaign is suing the Democratic National Committee after it suspended access to a voter database. The DNC says the campaign inappropriately accessed Hillary Clinton's data.

Donald Trump entered the fifth Republican debate of this presidential contest on Tuesday night as the national front-runner by leaps and bounds. Other candidates have risen and fallen, but the legion of Trump's support has not wavered.

If anything, the billionaire's backing has swollen to even greater proportions since his ...

This week brings the first Republican presidential debate since the attacks in Paris and San Bernardino focused the race on rhetoric around security, ISIS, refugees and Muslims.