To help you follow presidential and congressional elections, The Center has identified several useful Web sites.  There are, of course, hundreds if not thousands more.  In April 2008, for example, a Google search on the phrase “presidential campaigns” yielded 861,000 hits.  Substitute “presidential election” and the number climbs to 17,600,000! 

In addition to the sites listed below, http://www.congress.org/election/home/ allows you to follow races all over the country with a simple user interface.

Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee
http://www.dccc.org/
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) is the official campaign arm of the Democrats in the House.  The DCCC is the only political committee in the country whose principal mission is to support Democratic House candidates every step of the way through their campaigns.

Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee
http://www.dscc.org/
The DSCC’s mission is to elect Democrats to the United States Senate.  It is the largest organization solely dedicated to electing a Democratic Senate in the country.

National Republican Congressional Committee
http://www.nrcc.org/
It supports the election of Republicans to the House through direct financial contributions to candidates and Republican Party organizations; technical and research assistance to Republican candidates and party organizations; voter registration, education and turnout programs; and other party-building activities.

National Republican Senatorial Committee
http://www.nrsc.org/
The NRSC is the only political committee solely dedicated to electing Republicans to the U.S. Senate.  The NRSC provides support and assistance to current and prospective Republican U.S. Senate candidates in the areas of budget planning, election law compliance, fundraising, communications tools and messaging, research and strategy.

The New York Times Election Guide
http://politics.nytimes.com/election-guide/2008
This site is organized into six sections. Results links you to state returns, county maps, and delegate totals. The Candidates section provides profiles, recent articles, and multimedia. Finances has a map and searchable database of donors. The Primary Calendars segment lists coming and past contests. Schedules indicate where the candidates have traveled. The Issues component compares the candidates on such issues as health care, abortion, climate change, immigration, Iraq, and the economy.

OpenSecrets.org
http://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/index.asp
The Center for Responsive Politics, sponsor of this site, is a non-partisan, non-profit research group based in Washington, D.C. that tracks money in politics, and its effect on elections and public policy.  The Center conducts computer-based research on campaign finance issues for the news media, academics, activists, and the public at large.  The Center’s work is aimed at creating a more educated voter, an involved citizenry, and a more responsive government.  This site contains all the financial information one could want about contributions to Congress members, candidates, and campaigns.  The data are organized in many different ways, too.

Politico
http://www.politico.com/
Politico has assembled a talented and interesting collection of journalists -- established names as well as promising young people – and turned them loose on national politics.  The site focuses on three arenas.  The first is Congress and the constant flow of agendas, personalities, and power struggles that define daily life on Capitol Hill.  The second is the 2008 presidential campaign.  The third is lobbying and advocacy, a part of the capital economy undergoing rapid growth and change.

Presidential Election.com
http://www.presidentialelection.com/
This non-partisan site provides information and directory services for federal, state, and local elections in an effort “to create a more educated voter and a more responsible government . . . .”  This page has links to the 2008 presidential election, to Federal Election Commission data, to other non-profit, non-partisan research groups that collect information about politics, to a Student Center, and to scores of sites about campaign issues.  You can also find information about voter registration in your state.

Project Vote Smart
http://www.votesmart.org/
Vote Smart offers information in six basic areas. Voting Records allow you to compare what your representatives said during the campaign with how they actually voted on the record. The Biographical and Contact Information section contains information from all Congress members’ previous professions, education, families, organizational membership to their latest e-mail address. The Issue Positions segment shows the results of tests of thousands of candidates for president, Congress, governor, and state legislature. The test accurately measures a candidate's willingness to provide voters with their positions on the issues they will most likely face if elected to represent you. In Issue Group Ratings, over 150 competing special interest groups, from conservative to liberal, evaluate public officials. The project constantly collects speeches and public comments of the president, governors, and congressional representatives. In the Public Statements section, just type in a word, say, “immigration,” and all public utterances containing the word 'immigration' will appear.  How much money did your representatives raise and from whom? Just follow the money and then follow the votes at Campaign Finances.

RealClearPolitics
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/?state=nwa
Chicago-based RealClearPolitics.com (RCP) has become one of America’s premier independent political web sites.  Updated every morning and throughout the day, RCP culls and publishes the best commentary, news, polling data, and links to important resources from all points of the political compass and covering all the important issues of the day.  RealClearPolitics has become a trusted filter for anyone interested in politics.  RCP’s political commentary, election analysis, and polling averages have been featured in national media outlets including The New York Times, FOX News, CNN, The Economist, Investor’s Business Daily, The Chicago Sun-Times and many, many more.

Washingtonpost.com PresidentialCampaign Tracker
http://projects.washingtonpost.com/2008-presidential-candidates/tracker/
washingtonpost.com's Presidential Campaign Tracker uses information from campaigns, media reports, and other sources to compile a listing of events involving presidential candidates and their spouses. The tracker covers events since January 2007. It does not include every event -- particularly fundraisers, which often are unannounced. Some events will be added retroactively as more details become available.