Maxwell School News

“In recent decades the country has gotten incredibly polarized politically. Both candidates have 43% in the bank no matter what. I think what the last week is about—it's not about persuasion, we're done with that—it's about mobilization, it's about turnout. The election is going to turn on turnout,” says Grant Reeher, professor of political science.

“We know that Catholics are probably as divided as the rest of the electorate right now,” says Margaret Susan Thompson, associate professor of history and political science. “The election is extremely close by almost any standard and Catholics seem to be in many ways mirroring the American population in that regard,” she says.

Proposition One “would add sex and gender to the non-discrimination provisions of New York's constitution” and would expand protections beyond a person’s biological sex, “to include orientation, gender identity and gender expression,” says Thomas Keck, Michael O. Sawyer Chair of Constitutional Law and Politics.

“Young people are actually excited about this election. They're excited to vote, but they are very confused. They don't know exactly what to do because they feel so strongly about particular issues...so although they are excited, they're not sure what that means for them in the future,” says Jenn Jackson, assistant professor of political science.

“In some ways, you almost have two generic candidates running, one more conservative and one sort of more mainstream. And you’ve got a district that just seems more built for people who are closer to the center, in either party,” says Grant Reeher, professor of political science.

“It's really interesting that the Catholic Church is probably one of the few places where you find people with different perspectives sitting together at Sunday Mass,” says Margaret Susan Thompson, associate professor of history and political science. She adds that if past election results are any indication, Catholic turnout and the choices they make at the polls will depend on a variety of factors.

Harris is “is performing better in the national polls versus the battleground states, which tells me she is racking up more support in states where she is already likely to win,” says Grant Reeher, professor of political science. “That makes sense given the nature of the campaign's central messages and appeals.”

Matthew Huber, professor of geography and the environment, says the VP debate was “evidence of the sad state of our climate discourse.“

One element is “the return...of class politics, which takes the form of a series of important legislative measure that includes raising the minimum wage, facilitating the formation of unions, but also more specific things like, for example, recognizing the labor rights of domestic workers for the first time in the country,” says Edwin Ackerman, associate professor of sociology. 

“Since nonpartisan primaries include candidates from all parties, and many voters are entrenched in their partisan loyalties, fewer voters are susceptible to changing their votes based on persuasion efforts funded by wealthy donors” writes Richard Barton, assistant teaching professor of public administration and international affairs.

“Because the district [New York District 22] was slightly redistricted in a way that made it somewhat more favorable to Democrats and because of the nature of the two candidates in this race, I would say that Mannion would probably be the favorite in this race,” says Grant Reeher, professor of political science.

“I've also heard stories from candidates who refused to cooperate with criminal group members and they were met with a lot of resistance,” says Jessie Trudeau, assistant professor of political science.

Harris reshaped the election race by “advocating for women's health, reproductive freedom and abortion access more vocally and more powerfully than Biden did and than the Trump/Vance ticket is,” says Shana Gadarian, professor of poltical science. 

Richard Barton, assistant teaching professor of public administration and international affairs, suggests that Trump could decide to “do whatever he wants and let somebody file a lawsuit and bring it to the Supreme Court, who have been pretty favorable to Trump on matters of executive power.”

“One of the things I think the split screen was able to do was to show Harris looking really composed. She was looking right at Trump and she wasn't going to let up. And I think part of the strategy wasn't really about him at all. It was about ‘I can hold the stage. I can be presidential. I can be commander in chief,’” says Shana Gadarian, professor of political science.

“I think a lot of young people have been waiting to hear the same thing probably for the past few years as they have in the past few weeks, which is a really clear stance on what lies ahead for the folks who are most vulnerable in the United States,” says Jenn Jackson, assistant professor of political science.

“I think it's risky,” says Grant Reeher, professor of political science. “Many Democrats and others got excited about the Harris campaign precisely because it wasn't a Biden campaign.”

Playing into those politics are gasoline prices, which have become a partial barometer of economic security, says Matthew Huber, professor of geography and environment. He also notes that that the oil and gas industry has history of funding research that contradicts climate science.

“There is really a lot of interest right now in ensuring that folks who are not typically tapped into the mainstream of electoral politics, that they are getting excited about this election. …They're reaching out to folks who I believe that they think may come back into the fold with them,” says Jenn Jackson, assistant professor of political science.