Maxwell School News

“I think it’s going to cut both ways. On the one hand, Trump’s negatives in New York are very deep. People are very emotional—the ones that don’t like Trump really don’t like him,” says Grant Reeher, professor of  political science. But he can also help fill the Republican enthusiasm gap, he says.

Shannon Monnat, professor of sociology, says immigration has been a demographic lifeline for much of rural America. Rural areas have been losing young adults for years, she says. “For a lot of small towns, immigrants are the reason the school and hospital stayed open and the county didn’t shrink,” Monnat says.

“One point I would make relative to the Iranian president's speech, there are still splits in the leadership over there. They don't always speak with one voice, but hopefully, things will progress either before or after the elections, because eventually, there's going to have to be some kind of negotiated settlement,” Vice Adm. Robert Murrett (Ret.), professor of practice of public administration and international affairs.

“The contest for Senate control is becoming increasingly competitive, largely due to what continues to come out of the White House—evidenced by the president’s extremely low approval ratings. This latest appearance of essentially a bribe by the president for a good outcome in the midterms will not help,” says Grant Reeher, professor of political science.

“I think there’s a narrow slice of the electorate that could potentially be persuaded and moved, swayed by that cross-party endorsement. But in the states that we’re talking about, that narrow slice of the electorate could be pivotal,” says Richard Barton, assistant teaching professor of public administration and international affairs.

“Over the last few years, election denialism has become something of a litmus test within the Republican Party,” says Richard Barton, assistant teaching professor of public administration and international affairs.

“There is some support for the claim that ideologues can more effectively mobilize the base and activate new voters, but they are also more effective at mobilizing opposition,” says Richard Barton, assistant teaching professor of public administration and international affairs.

Bruce Blakeman should concentrate on pocketbook issues that could appeal to independent voters, says Grant Reeher, professor of political science. 

"With a large field, that could help the one most progressive (or socialist) candidate emerge with a plurality," says Grant Reeher, professor of political science. 

“Rubio’s surge doesn’t surprise me. He has been more in the news lately, given the U.S. international posture, and he has managed to sound reasonable and grounded, in contrast to the defense secretary, for instance,” says Grant Reeher, professor of political science.

“The situation certainly makes it much harder for any replacement to defeat Collins, and therefore it makes it one seat harder to retake the Senate,” says Grant Reeher, professor of political science.

“The overall erosion in the president’s approval ratings is still the consequence of the accumulation of many policies, orders, actions and statements during his term. There is no one reason or single inflection point. Certainly, the war in Iran and the quick, steep rise in gasoline prices have only added to the longer term trend,” says Grant Reeher, professor of political science. 

Richard Barton, assistant teaching professor of public administration and international affairs, analyzed 14 metrics and found that states with nonpartisan primaries had seen “statistically significant improvements” in nine of them—even when accounting for other factors.

Policies such as public investments in infrastructure like housing and electricity will help address climate change, says Matt Huber, professor of geography and the environment. But there is little reason for politicians to focus on the issue anymore, he says.

“Because the parties are weaker, when candidates run, they don't anymore try to please the party and to stay in good graces with the party, because the party can't give them as much as they used to in terms of helping of helping forward their political careers,” says Johanna Dunaway, professor of political science and research director of the Institute for Democracy, Journalism and Citizenship.

“The recent surge in election-related activities of big tech companies such as Palantir and OpenAI can be understood as preemptive measures against potential fallouts from the election,” says University professor Hamid Ekbia. “Palantir, in specific, is in a vulnerable position because of recent revelations about its heavy involvement with ICE activities.”

Today’s election is “the first genuinely competitive national vote in nearly two decades,” making it a “historic” moment for Bangladesh, and today's polls “mark a real break from the era of contested, non-credible polls and authoritarian entrenchment,” under Sheikh Hasina’s rule, says Farhana Sultana, professor of geography and the environment.

Maxwell School alumnus and Assistant Teaching Professor Richard Barton ’15 M.A. (PSc) has co-edited a book that examines how primary elections have changed over the past decade and why they often yield extreme or unpopular candidates. 

“Now she [ Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi] doesn't have to worry about any elections until 2028, when the next upper house elections will take place,” says Margarita Estévez-Abe, associate professor of political science. “So the best scenario for Japan is that Takaichi kind of takes a deep breath and focuses on amending the relationship with China.”

Ahead of the meeting between incoming New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani and Donald Trump, Grant Reeher, professor of political science, tells Agence France Presse: “Look for the outcome of that meeting to be something to the effect of, ‘I think I can work with (him)—but we will see how it goes and I’m hopeful—we both want the city to succeed’.”