Campbell Institute News

Shana Gadarian, associate professor of political science, says people tend to get cues from their elected officials. "The political leaders of the Republican party for a long time have not had a consistent message about what keeps people safe," Gadarian says.

"If Democrats are taking more precautions because of the coronavirus, we may see them not turn out as much as they would have without the pandemic," says Shana Gadarian, associate professor of political science.

"At this point, it is just completely baffling to me,” says Grant Reeher, professor of political science, of President Trump's decision to hold his campaign rally in Tulsa, the site of one of the worst racial massacres in modern U.S. history back in 1921. "He is going all-in on ‘Law and Order’ and rejecting the very premise of the protests and sticking it in your eye."

"By 'abolish the police,' I mean building a world where we do not rely on anti-Black, white supremacist institutions of order to regulate society," says Jenn Jackson, assistant professor of political science.

"I think for a growing number of white Americans you are seeing more attention paid to the longer-term reasons that racial inequality persists in America," says Steven White, assistant professor of political science. "I guess the question is whether these changes in public opinion will last," he says. "Is this the beginning of a really substantial shift?"

When asked how hard it would be for any incumbent to overcome low voter satisfaction figures, Professor of Political Science Grant Reeher says, "If we’re going by the history, the answer is 'very difficult.'" He claims that voter satisfaction has always been a key indicator of the incumbent party's likelihood of winning reelection.

"It’s an important inflection point, if you will, of now seeing the opportunity for commercial transportation of humans into space," says University Professor Sean O’Keefe, former administrator of NASA. "This is much akin to the transition when the first civil aviation aircraft took off decades ago after many decades of it being exclusively a public endeavor."

"You can’t explain SpaceX without really understanding how NASA really kind of nurtured it in the early days," says Harry Lambright, professor of public administration and international affairs and political science. "In a way, SpaceX is kind of a child of NASA."

Grant Reeher, professor of political science, says Biden could have a hard time getting enthusiastic support from former Sanders supporters due to his lengthy record—three decades of Senate votes and two terms in the White House as President Barack Obama's vice president.

The polarization of American life had been going on for years before Trump was even a political figure, says Grant Reeher, professor of political science. But, "what is different now [the COVID-19 pandemic], and what gives this a sharper edge is the fact that emotions are running so high."

 75% of Democrats and 53% of Republicans said they wore masks in public, finds a study conducted by Shana Gadarian, associate professor of political science, and her colleagues.

"Every candidate has campaigned on a bureaucracy-bashing theme," says Tina Nabatchi, Joseph A. Strasser Endowed Professor in Public Administration. "That message has gotten through to affect people’s confidence in government."

"As disturbing as these allegations against Vice President Biden are, similar allegations have been made against President Trump... I think [voting for Biden is] a legitimate choice to make that does not negate the possibility that Tara Reade is telling the truth," says Margaret Susan Thompson, associate professor of history and political science.

“People are taking their cues from political leadership and from doctors, and to the extent that those are different, people will turn to their more trusted sources,” says Shana Gadarian, associate professor of political science.

"I don’t think the issue is likely to cause someone to vote for Trump instead of Biden," says Grant Reeher, professor of political science. "The problem is what it does for the level of enthusiasm for Biden among different constituencies, and the turnout for him. It could have a dampening effect there."

"Normally, I think that people take cues from the president but since his messaging has been relatively muddled... people seem to be filling in their preferred position for his," says Shana Gadarian, associate professor of political science. 

"We’ve recommended that the medical experts be up front and center, and the political leaders take a step back and defer to the doctors and to the head of the health agencies, because that’s who anxious people want to hear from," says Shana Gadarian, associate professor of political science.

Matthew Young, assistant professor of public administration and international affairs, put forth in his new book a threefold strategy to assist government leaders and public managers with how best to approach using AI.