Maxwell School News

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.”

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. 

Vice Adm. Robert Murrett (Ret.), professor of practice of public administration and international affairs, says President Zelenskyy is here to “garner additional support from the administration, the Congress, and address the United Nations in ways that will provide the military support and also looking forward to negotiations.”

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.

“It pretty clear and consistent across lots of polls that public support for the court itself has been tanking,” says Thomas Keck, Michael O. Sawyer Chair of Constitutional Law and Politics. “So, in theory, that creates some space for a capable political leader to speak to those concerns.”

“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.”

“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.

Keith Bybee, professor of political science, says 6-3 rulings such as the immunity decision make the court appear more partisan in its decision-making. “But also, this majority is quite emboldened,” he says, rendering decisions that are “quite sweeping and overturn decades-old precedents” such as in the case of abortion.

“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.

“These policies include mass deportation of undocumented immigrants and greatly reduced entry visas for working immigrants,” says Ryan Monarch, assistant professor of economics. “These policies would also lead to higher prices for everything from housing to groceries, as reduced labor supply in construction, agriculture and other sectors would lead to higher costs throughout the economy.“

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.