Related Research Guides
US Election Information
- Guide to US ElectionsThorough overview of US elections, including history of elections and political parties, campaign issues, presidential, congressional and gubenatorial elections from 1789 - 2010.
- Guide to Political Campaigns in the USCQ Press resource covering the history of campaigns in the US, including campaign laws, candidates, political parties, interest groups, voter turnout, campaign strategies and information on specific campaigns throughout American history.
Federal Branch Relations Resources
- Congress' Support of President Tables - CQ AlmanacOverview of a Congress' level of support or opposition of the President's policy agenda, covers 1953 through current.
- Presidential Relations with CongressData from the American Presidency Project on Presidential Vetos, the President's first year legislation requests, Congressional concurrence with the Executive and more.
- Vital Statistics on the PresidencyCovers analysis and stats on the power of the Presidency and relations with the Executive branch with Congress and the Judiciary.
Political Parties & Partisanship Resources
- Political Unity Tables - CQ AlmanacData of Congressional members' affiliation with the member's party, 1946 - current.
- GovTrackFocuses on the daily activities of Congress to provide in-depth information to the public to ensure transparency in government and encourage civic engagement.
- Political Party Fundraising OverviewReport on the amount of fundraising by the major political parties in the US.
- National Party Platforms, 1840 - currentArchive from the American Presidency Project of every party platform, the formalized document describing a party's official political stance on a issue and the policies the party will advocate.
- Success of the President's Party in Congressional ElectionsData from the American Presidency Project on the success of the President's party in Congress for mid-term and presidential election cycles, 1932 - current.
Interest Group Resources
- National Special Interest Groups List (VoteSmart)An interactive list of special interest groups ratings of congress members by topic from Project Vote Smart, a non-partisan organization.
- Interest Group Political Donations (OpenSecrets)Lists top contributing organizations by industry, top recipients of interest group donations and total giving by sectors to the major political parties.
Resources for American Government Research
- Political Science Complete This link opens in a new windowSearch for journal articles on topics related to political science, political theory, political behavior, public policy, law, international relations, comparative politics, and non-governmental organizations. (EBSCO)
- National Journal Group's Policy Central This link opens in a new windowAccess in-depth analysis of US politics, government policy, the economy, and campaigns. This database includes publications such as The National Journal, The Hotline, and the Almanac of American Politics. It also includes polls of the public and political insiders. (National Journal Group)
- Pew Research CenterGenerates polls, reports & statistics covering global attitudes, politics, religion and social trends
- CQ Press Library This link opens in a new window
Search all CQ Press databases at once, including CQ Almanac, CQ Researcher Plus Archive, CQ Magazine, Politics in America, and Supreme Court Yearbook. (Sage)
- Congress.gov - Legislative Information from the Library of CongressGovernment database of the bills, documents, activities and votes of the U.S. Congress, with full text of legislation from 1993 - present. (Congress.gov replaced THOMAS in September 2014).
- Vital Statistics on CongressDefinitive source on the study of congressional campaigns, elections, activities and political polarization & voting alignments. PDF and Excel files available.
US Statistics & Data
- Vital Statistics on American PoliticsStatistics on American elections, politics, opinions, powers of the government and policy trends.
- Pew Research Social & Demographic TrendsAnalysis and graphics of demographic trends in the US.
- iPOLL This link opens in a new window
Search an archive of public opinion polls from US and international polling firms since 1935 on topics such as social issues, politics, pop culture, international affairs, science, the environment, and more. Note: You must create an account to download the datasets. (Cornell University)
- Voting America,1840 - 2008Interactive visualizations of how Americans voted in presidential elections from 1840 - 2008 to the county level.
State, County & City Government Resources
These resources help find information on states, counties and cities for individual analysis or for comparision of state governments.
- National Institute on Money in State PoliticsOrganization tracks political donations in all 50 states, providing reports and graphics showing trends within, and across, states.
- National Governors AssociationProvides data on state governments, particularly working with the federal government, as well as, biographies of governors.
- National Conference of State Legislatures WebsiteProvides information on state laws, bills and policies, allowing for comparison amongst the states.
- Council of State GovernmentsProvides information on state policies, economics, economic snapshots and research on issues affecting states.
- National Association of CountiesThe only organization for advocating county-level needs to state and federal governments. Provides reports on issues affecting county governments as well as demographic data.
- National League of CitiesProvides information on cities including economics, security and city services for citizens.
- CityMayors.comFind information on cities throughout the world, including economic, demographic and other information regarding metropolitan governance.