Campbell Institute News

"If there was a year in which I'd be suspicious of polling numbers, this would be it,” Grant Reeher, professor of political science, tells CNY Central. "The reason is that the models of likely voters have to come from somewhere, and usually they use previous midterms. 2018 is nothing like 2014." 

"Is it [President Obama's memo] going to help a lot? I don’t think so, given the country is so polarized," says Grant Reeher, professor of political science and director of the Campbell Public Affairs Institute. "But it could help get people who would vote Democratic anyway to actually turn up."

"One of the things we know about negative ads is they have more policy information than positive ads which tend to be more about the candidate's background," says Shana Gadarian, associate professor of political science.

"My sense is that he's relying on some stock phrases that he pulls out again and again, especially when he's called on to make a statement about an issue that perhaps he hasn't done a lot of research on or doesn't have a lot of information on," says Emily Thorson, assistant professor of political science. 

"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.

"It was just another, additional piece of evidence for Democratic voters and particularly Democratic women that...women are not valued as much as men and they aren't to be believed, and they don't matter," says Shana Gadarian, associate professor of political science. 

According to Emily Thorson, assistant professor of political science, it's difficult to separate non-football issues—such as politics, concussions, cord-cutting and other unknown factors—from the events on the field.

"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."

University Professor and former NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe was tasked with informing the families and friends of the terrible fate of the astronauts on the Columbia Space Shuttle. "It went from being a moment of great anticipation and elation...to a stillness, recognizing that the time that had been anticipated for the shuttle to land had passed," he says of the tragic event.

"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.

"Where are the laity and others who might provide both new and uncomplicit voices and insights into the process?" asks Margaret Susan Thompson, associate professor of history and political science.

"The situation we're in at this particular moment—in the Supreme Court and the American political system more broadly—is a moment of extreme partisan polarization which has clearly infected our other political institutions and has made its way into the court," says Tom Keck, professor of political science and Sawyer Chair of Constitutional Law and Politics. 

"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.

University Professor John L. Palmer, a former long-time dean of the school, and his wife, Stephanie G. Palmer, have made a major gift commitment to the Maxwell School that will create an endowed fund supporting Maxwell professional master’s students, with an emphasis on financial aid and career development services. 

Sarah Pralle, associate professor of political science, found that the unpleasant surprise of the new insurance costs often causes political pressure that can ultimately lead to map revisions that underestimate flood exposure.