Campbell Institute News

“We can show the overlapping of areas of lead poisoning with poor educational performance, with teen pregnancy, with entry into the criminal justice system, and so on. So there's a whole set of ramifications,” says Robert Rubinstein, Distinguished Professor of Anthropology.

“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.”

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.

“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.

“The media doesn’t tend to cover current policy nearly as much as it covers policy conflict, policy outcomes,” says Emily Thorson, assistant professor of political science. “And what that means is that people kind of try to figure it out on their own. They engage in inductive reasoning to try to figure out how social security works, how refugee admission works, and often they get it wrong.”

“Trump seemed to bring almost every issue back to immigration and the harms he asserted were coming from that—that was obviously one of his main strategies. President Biden seemed to address different policy questions more in their own terms. He talked fast and in a staccato, hoarse whisper,” says Grant Reeher, professor of political science.

In our most recent GenForward poll, “what they actually said [was most important to them] was income inequality and economic growth. It seems that what we saw four years ago has really shifted for young voters and they're more concerned now with how they're going to have economic longevity,” says Jenn Jackson, assistant professor of political science.

“We think the current civil service system is badly in need of reform. But the blueprints offered by both left and right are problematic. One side is firmly rooted in a status quo that (inadvertently or otherwise) impedes accountability, and the other could end up politicizing the very civil servants who should be politically neutral,” writes University Professor Sean O'Keefe and his co-authors.

“As a candidate, she’s not someone who’s really made an effort to go to the center. She’s really tied more to the Trump style of right-wing politics," says Steven White, associate professor of political science. "My sense is this kind of thing helps her appeal to a certain part of the base maybe, but probably is not great for swing voters.”

“Misunderstanding the Harms of Online Misinformation,” co-authored by Assistant Professor of Political Science Emily Thorson, was published in Nature.

“Haley continuing to garner support after suspending her campaign may indicate that a significant number of normally loyal Republicans are not supportive of Trump,” says Grant Reeher, professor of political science and director of the Campbell Public Affairs Institute.

Funded by gifts from hundreds of individual donors, including a lead gift from long-time Maxwell supporters Gerry and Daphna Cramer, the project has since awarded funds for dozens of faculty-led projects that have explored topics related to citizenship—from labor policy to free speech jurisprudence to climate change.

“Residential mobility and persistently depressed voting among disadvantaged adults in a large housing experiment,” co-authored by Assistant Professor of Political Science Baobao Zhang, was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Margaret Susan Thompson, associate professor of history and political science, says one of the biggest reasons for the changing relationship is that [Pope] Francis and other key decision-makers were members of religious congregations themselves. "I think that made a big difference," she says.

The assistant professor of political science will make remarks at the Maxwell School Graduate Convocation on May 10.