Maxwell School News and Commentary

“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.

Grant Reeher, professor of political science professor, says some of it “is probably being driven by the enthusiasm among the white left voters for her candidacy.”

Shana Gadarian, professor of political science, notes that while rising temperatures may not shape vote choice directly in the United States this year, they will likely increase the salience of climate as an issue. “This will especially be the case for candidates on the left, where voters name the environment and climate as issues they care about,” she says.

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.”