Maxwell School News

Unlike the well-oiled machinery of the right, left-leaning partisan organizations struggle to define their message because the party itself is “so diverse in its makeup,” says Johanna Dunaway, professor of political science. “Democrats have a lot more of a big tent party,” she says. “It’s harder to have a consistent party platform and messaging.”

“Harris also has some of the traits that a lot of Democrats were looking for,” says Grant Reeher, professor of political science. “Her early performance has been good, and she's picking up some good endorsements. The money is coming in. All this has been widely reported in the press, which furthers the impression of new viability.”

“He drew into question so many people's backgrounds and identities that he ended up alienating so many groups of people who you would think he would've gone to the NABJ conference to actually bring under his umbrella to vote for him,” says Jenn Jackson, assistant professor of political science.

“Calling Biden’s decision a ‘coup’ does not clarify anything about all of this. It does not accurately reflect any part of what has happened here,” says Matthew Cleary, associate professor of political science.

“They [delegates] themselves are part of the party apparatus,“ says Shana Gadarian, professor of political science. “As with everything in politics in the United States, everything comes from the states. Occasionally you see a delegate make an individual decision and decide to vote for somebody else but that's pretty rare.”

“It sounds like they are going full force into campaign mode and are trying to play up the prosecutor versus the felon, the future versus the past, so you're starting to see some themes emerge,” says Christopher Faricy, professor of political science. 

“Harris will likely reinvigorate the energy and enthusiasm behind the campaign—one can feel that already,” says Grant Reeher, professor of political science. “The early fundraising is a good sign for her.”

“The Trump organization is a family business, but once he took office the first time, and then you could really see that he brought that into the political realm and into the White House,” says Natalie Koch, professor of geography and the environment.

Margaret Susan Thompson, associate professor of history and political science, says that Biden’s endorsement of Kamala Harris means she will more than likely be the Democratic nominee in the November election. “Already we are hearing a lot of calls for unity, statements of enthusiasm, and a lot of speculation frankly about who might be the vice president. But I do not see a lot of noise around the candidate at the top,” she says.

“You don’t have to say that Trump all of a sudden is a perfect candidate, and doesn’t pose a potential threat to the electoral system, in saying he also shouldn’t be a victim of a crime,” says Shana Kushner Gadarian, professor of political science.

Such hero worship benefits both the mythologized leader and followers, says Natalie Koch, professor of geography and the environment. “By building up that cult and joining that and being part of that, they get a sense of community.”

“One could imagine it being a moment for the country—and the candidates—to reflect on the level of current divisiveness and to try to de-escalate. Or, it could also raise the level of hostility among Trump’s most ardent supporters, which in turn raises the level of reaction, and we end up even more divided,” says Grant Reeher, professor of political science.

“...NATO member states are aware of it that a Trump presidency might mean quite a shaky time period for the alliance going forward,” says Professor of Political Science Brian Taylor. “President Biden has decades of experience with respect to dealing with NATO member countries and understanding the alliance. And President Trump has a much more negative and hostile attitude towards the alliance.

“The media doesn’t tend to cover current policy nearly as much as it covers policy conflict, policy outcomes,” says Emily Thorson, assistant professor of political science. “And what that means is that people kind of try to figure it out on their own. They engage in inductive reasoning to try to figure out how social security works, how refugee admission works, and often they get it wrong.”

“In general, I'd like to hear answers or comments, not so much about Ukraine, but about Russia, because it's not Ukraine, but Russia, that poses the biggest challenge today,” says Tetiana Hranchak, visiting assistant teaching professor in the Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs.

“Immigrants tend to be younger and employed, which increases the number of workers paying into the system. Also, they have more children, which helps boost the future workforce that will pay payroll taxes,” says Gary Engelhardt, professor of economics, in response to Trump's statement that Biden will destroy Social Security and Medicare by putting migrants entering the U.S. on the benefits.

“Trump seemed to bring almost every issue back to immigration and the harms he asserted were coming from that—that was obviously one of his main strategies. President Biden seemed to address different policy questions more in their own terms. He talked fast and in a staccato, hoarse whisper,” says Grant Reeher, professor of political science.

Initial findings found that Republicans were more invested in watching the first presidential debate between President Biden and former President Trump than Democrats or independents.  

In our most recent GenForward poll, “what they actually said [was most important to them] was income inequality and economic growth. It seems that what we saw four years ago has really shifted for young voters and they're more concerned now with how they're going to have economic longevity,” says Jenn Jackson, assistant professor of political science.