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You are here: Home / Professional Notes / Farnsworth Pens Piece on Nation’s Sentiments Toward Kamala Harris for ‘The Conversation’

Farnsworth Pens Piece on Nation’s Sentiments Toward Kamala Harris for ‘The Conversation’

July 25, 2024 by Guest Author

Professor of Political Science Stephen Farnsworth

Professor of Political Science and Director of the Center for Leadership and Media Studies Stephen Farnsworth penned a recent piece for The Conversation titled “GOP attacks against Kamala Harris were already bad – they are about to get worse.” Public opinion polls suggest that U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris is doing slightly better than Joe Biden was against Donald Trump, Farnsworth wrote in the piece – which was picked up by multiple outlets – but Republican attacks against her are only now ramping up. Read more.

Other recent media mentions for Farnsworth include:

Virginia convention delegation backs Harris, turnout to be key, analysts say (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
“Harris may generate some increased support among those people sometimes called the ‘double haters,’ people not happy with either Biden or Trump as nominees,” said Stephen Farnsworth,  a political scientist at the University of Mary Washington.
https://richmond.com/news/state-regional/government-politics/virginia-kamala-harris-democratic-national-convention/article_84b8c018-48f6-11ef-8e71-dbe9c21554c0.html

Virginia Democratic delegates overwhelmingly back Kamala Harris for presidential nomination (Virginian Dogwood)
“A contentious debate within the party would have created further division for Democrats, which would have further undermined the chances of whoever ended up the nominee,” said Stephen Farnsworth, a political science professor at the University of Mary Washington. “The prompt action by so many delegates demonstrated that Democratic officials recognize they need to be unified as soon as possible to prepare for the election ahead.”
https://vadogwood.com/2024/07/23/virginia-democratic-delegates-overwhelmingly-back-kamala-harris-for-presidential-nomination/
Biden drops out after months of campaigning and reassurances (CHCH News)
“You are absolutely correct. This is something that is unprecedented. Never has a president ever abandoned a campaign at this point,” said Stephen Farnsworth.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_BvZuiPUMo
Virginia convention delegation backs Harris, turnout to be key, analysts say (The News Virginian)
“Harris may generate some increased support among those people sometimes called the ‘double haters,’ people not happy with either Biden or Trump as nominees,” said Stephen Farnsworth, a political scientist at the University of Mary Washington.
https://newsvirginian.com/news/state-regional/government-politics/virginia-kamala-harris-democratic-national-convention/article_7b537ccf-585c-525e-86a9-c30fb1bb9281.html
Reaction to Biden Dropping out of U.S. Presidential Race (CP24 Toronto)
“This is absolutely unprecedented,” said UMW Professor of Political Science Stephen Farnsworth. “The idea that a candidate who was about to receive the party nomination would be subject to weeks of attacks from other Democrats and then abandon his re-election campaign this close to the November election. There’s absolutesly nothing like this in American history.”
https://www.cp24.com/video?clipId=2962818

Spanberger Gets Big Jump as Democrats Look to 2025 (Smyth County News & Messenger)
“It’s clear that the Democrats are planning already for 2025,” said Steve Farnsworth, director of the Center for Leadership and Media Studies at the University of Mary Washington. “A lot of money is being dropped on candidates who aren’t on the ballot this year.”
https://swvatoday.com/news/state-regional/government-politics/elections/article_119b0675-dca9-557d-b89a-928e30dffb75.html

Reaction to Biden Dropping Out of 2024 Race (KNX Los Angeles Radio)
“This is one of these situations where we are someplace we have never been before,” said UMW Professor of Political Science Stephen Farnsworth. “A president has never abandoned a presidential campaign this close to a presidential election. What we do not know, of course, is what will happen going forward.”
Link not available.

Trump Rallies Republicans at Convention (CTV News)
“In some ways it’s really best to think of it as two speeches, the first 15 to 20 minutes where he was talking about the assassination attempt, the tribute to the fallen firefighter. Those sorts of comments really suggest a different narrative to what comes later.”
https://www.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=2962765

At GOP Convention, Youngkin bids for national role (Richmond Times-Dispatch; The News Virginian; Smyth County News & Messenger)
“I am sure the governor hopes that national Republicans will think of him a lot in the next four years, but his speech will not rank up there with Obama’s 2004 speech,” said Stephen Farnsworth, a University of Mary Washington political scientist. “Of course if Trump wins, Youngkin may end up in his cabinet.”
https://richmond.com/news/state-regional/government-politics/elections/at-gop-convention-youngkin-bids-for-national-role/article_4a4e30fc-4478-11ef-82ea-03e4297993c3.html
https://newsvirginian.com/news/state-regional/government-politics/at-gop-convention-youngkin-bids-for-national-role/article_58bfa704-937f-5244-93af-20b86a74afe8.html
https://swvatoday.com/news/state-regional/government-politics/elections/article_3b2f5206-abfc-5f88-9ec6-563103667766.html
VCU Poll Biden Drop (WMAL)
“The closeness of the contest speaks to President Biden’s problem nationally. That the contest is as close as it is speaks to the challenges that the Democratic Party is facing right now given its own internal division,” said Stephen Farnsworth.
Link not available.
Tuesday Poll Virginia (WMAL)
“I do think that Virginia can look forward to a great deal more potential from presidential candidates this year. This is a state that Biden won without much trouble four years ago. Now given the closeness of some of the surveys, it does suggest that both Democrats and Republicans will ignore this data at their peril,” said Stephen Farnsworth.
Link not available.
Kamala Harris’s Rebranding Could Make Her ‘More Sympathetic’ (Newsweek)
Stephen J. Farnsworth, a professor of political science at the University of Mary Washington, told Newsweek that her memes can help her reach young voters. “Vice President Harris has shown a greater ability to connect with younger voters than President Biden has. Her many appearances on college campuses and before younger groups, her focus on abortion rights, and her meme game make her an ambassador of sorts from the administration to younger adults,” he said.
https://www.newsweek.com/kamala-harris-rebranding-memes-election-1926008
New campaign finance figures show millions on hand for some candidates (WVTF)
“Increasingly, you’re going to be looking at a Democratic Party that is playing triage,” says Stephen Farnsworth at the University of Mary Washington. “Where are the best places for Democrats to invest their money? They’re going to be thinking about that, and it may be that they will be looking at the 7th much more aggressively than the 2nd.”
https://www.wvtf.org/news/2024-07-17/new-campaign-finance-figures-show-millions-on-hand-for-some-candidates
Spanberger gets big jump as Democrats look to 2025 (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
“It’s clear that the Democrats are planning already for 2025,” said Steve Farnsworth, director of the Center for Leadership and Media Studies at the University of Mary Washington. “A lot of money is being dropped on candidates who aren’t on the ballot this year.
https://richmond.com/news/state-regional/government-politics/elections/virginia-2025-elections-fundraising-republicans-democrats/article_dfcbf912-43a0-11ef-980a-87669a6d7882.html
What effect will Trump shooting have on campaigns going forward? (VPM)
Stephen Farnsworth, a political science professor at the University of Mary Washington, echoed that sentiment. “I expect that the commitment to behave more responsibly won’t last all that long,” he said. “There are so many people who have had such progress in politics because of their aggressive, combative discourse that it’s not something that will remain off the table.”
https://www.vpm.org/news/2024-07-15/trump-assassination-attempt-local-national-campaigns
After Trump shooting, ‘everything’s in play in Virginia’ (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
Stephen Farnsworth, director of the Center for Leadership and Media Studies at the University of Mary Washington, questions whether Democratic angst over the president in early July will make much difference to voters in November.
https://richmond.com/news/state-regional/government-politics/elections/virginia-biden-vindman-anderson-subramanyam-clancy/article_392740dc-405b-11ef-a62f-df68bed04664.html
Voters Express Frustration Over Biden vs Trump (CTV News)
“Well, I really think that alot of opinions about Joe Biden are pretty fixed right now,” said Stephen Farnsworth.
https://www.ctvnews.ca/video/c2957798-joe-biden-on-campaign-trail?playlistId=1.6919983&binId=1.810401&__vfz=medium%3Dsharebar
Virginia Rep. Bob Good seeks recount in primary with Trump-backed rival (The Washington Post; The New York Ledger)
University of Mary Washington political scientist Stephen Farnsworth agreed that Good’s odds are long.
“Everything at this point has been double-checked and triple-checked by election authorities,” he said. “I can’t think of a case in a congressional primary in Virginia where a magnitude this large has been overturned.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2024/07/11/good-mcguire-trump-virginia-primary/
https://thenyledger.com/news/virginia-rep-bob-good-seeks-recount-in-primary-with-trump-backed-rival/

Filed Under: Professional Notes Tagged With: sfarnswo

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