When it comes to politics, 2014 may be remembered as the year of the improbable. In Kansas, a GOP stronghold, both the Republican governor and a very conservative senator are fighting for their political lives against a moderate Democrat and an independent, respectively.

North Carolina Libertarian Sean Haugh has attracted much attention in his race against Democratic incumbent U.S Senator Kay Hagan and Republican Thom Tillis.

According to a KSN News poll published on Tuesday, October 28, the U.S. Senate race in Kansas is in a statistical tie. Independent Greg Orman has a slight lead in the poll at 44 percent, but U.S. Senator Pat Roberts is only trailing by two percentage points -- inside the margin of error (+/- 4%).

Foreign Affairs Magazine wrote in an editorial for its September/October 2014 edition:

“For such a strong, rich, free, and favorably situated country, the United States is remarkably testy and out of sorts these days — and falling far short of its enormous potential.” - Foreign Affairs Magazine

That is exactly the conclusion I arrived at. The way I would word it is:

After 40 years of service in the U.S. House of Representatives, Henry Waxman (D) is stepping down. As the November election approaches, voters of California’s 33rd Congressional District must decide which candidate will replace the Democratic stalwart, Republican Elan Carr or Democrat Ted Lieu.

When IVN contributor Eric Robinson spoke with independent U.S. Senate candidate Larry Pressler (South Dakota) in May, Pressler lagged far behind in the polls. Trailing in a distant third behind the two major-party candidates, he was struggling to raise money.

Money and power go hand in hand in the current discussion over the state of politics in America. A 2014 study by the California Public Interest Research Group, CALPIRG, found a relatively small number of large donors made up over half of spending in California's 2014 nonpartisan, top-two open primary election.

The main talk of the 2014 election has been which political party will control the Senate after the votes have been counted. Democrats have been on defense throughout most of the country as President Obama's approval rating remains low. So with just a week to go before Election Day, how will the numbers fall? Here are my predictions.

In this election cycle, Democrats have 38 seats that are safe or not up for re-election while Republicans have 42. So that is where my numbers start.

Illinois' 12th Congressional District has been one of the more closely watched races in the 2014 midterm elections. While each race is different, the contest between Democratic U.S.

Assembly District 7 saw a 24.2 percent turnout in June’s top-two primary, a drop from the 28.6 percent turnout it had in the 2010 primary. A plurality of the voting population in the district, in which the state capital is located, are Democrats (43.4%), which is part of the reason why voters will choose between two Democratic city council members, Kevin McCarty and Steve Cohn, in November.