In the News: Grant Reeher

"The general impulse seems to favor the conservative/republican mood... But the Democrats have recruited many women who are competing for competitive seats...and the confirmation of Kavanaugh could help the Democratic candidates in places that count," says Grant Reeher, professor of political science and director of the Campbell Public Affairs Institute.

"The emotions surrounding this have been extremely high, and most Republicans are on record already showing they wanted to go forward with a vote," on Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court, says Reeher. "Those things can’t be walked back."

"One of the things I’ve been most struck by is how the reaction to Trump has so deeply affected state-level contests, even at the district level," says Grant Reeher, professor of political science and director of the Campbell Public Affairs Institute.

"The inference would be that he’s more worried about this one," says Professor of Political Science Grant Reeher, about the $16 million [Governor] Cuomo has spent, largely on TV ads championing the economy and his liberal achievements.

“There have been so many things over the last couple of years that it is just impossible to point to one thing that is going to be a particular problem, or more of a problem than the rest,” says Grant Reeher, professor of political science.

"For [Elise] Stefanik, she is betting that the district will distinguish and appreciate the nuance of her approach toward the president— of supporting at a distance, in order to help with the district," says Professor of Political Science Grant Reeher.

According to Grant Reeher, professor of political science and director of the Campbell Public Affairs Institute, the push for a single payer health system has gained traction as a "symbolic" issue for some Democrats who want to have a "positive alternative message" to efforts by President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans to dismantle Obamacare.

Professor of Political Science Grant Reeher says in his experience, the incumbent or the candidate who expects to win wants to have a debate as close as possible to the Election Day and the challenger wants to have it earlier. 

"Perez Williams has higher name recognition than [Dana] Balter due to her previous run for mayor. She also has the support of the national party organization. But this is the kind of race in which the actual result might not match polling," says Grant Reeher, professor of political science.

"The visuals are very powerful, the individual stories that you can tell are very powerful," says Grant Reeher, professor of political science and director of the Campbell Public Affairs Institute.  "All the things that drive attention are there."

According to Professor of Political Science Grant Reeher, the split primary doesn’t do much to help what generally dogs primary races, low voter turnout. "If you take that problem and you split the primary into two separate dates, you’ve compounded that problem even further, because you’ve asked people to come back and vote again, after they have voted in the federal primary," he says. 

"The sense of tradition is very strong in the Senate—there's a level of mutual respect and having each other's back," says Grant Reeher, professor of political science and director of the Campbell Public Affairs Institute, about Senate Republicans' support of Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

Grant Reeher, professor of political science and director of the Campbell Public Affairs Institute, says that, compared to other recent presidents, Trump’s pardons appear "more politically oriented. He is focusing on people whose political actions are consistent with his own, in that they have been advancing points of view that he shares, or working toward his goals."

"If something big is revealed—an impeachable offense by the president—that could be a significant factor in creating a blue (Democratic) wave," says Grant Reeher, professor of political science and director of the Campbell Public Affairs Institute. On the other hand, he says, if the investigations end with nothing really significant or new "it gives power to President Trump's narrative that it has all been a witch hunt, which could give Republicans a boost."

"It has obviously been an enormous distraction for the administration," says Grant Reeher, professor of political science. "Whatever the amount of political capital [Trump had], it has been diminished."

"With the mid-term congressional elections coinciding with the gubernatorial primary contest, Nixon and Cuomo are both seeking to project themselves as 'resister in chief',” says Grant Reeher, professor of political science and director of the Campbell Public Affairs Institute.