Professor of Political Science and Director of the University’s Center for Leadership and Media Studies Stephen Farnsworth

Professor of Political Science and Director of the University’s Center for Leadership and Media Studies Stephen Farnsworth recently presented a public lecture, “Surveying the Virginia Political Landscape: The Commonwealth’s 2025 Elections and the Policy Challenges of 2026,” at the Richmond World Affairs Council.

Media mentions for Farnsworth include:

Special Session Redistricting (WUSA TV)
“Yes, absolutely and there is a question as to if this is even legal, but in order for this to work the Democrats will have to pass the constitutional amendment before the election,” said Stephen Farnsworth. Read more.

Redistricting reversal: Virginia Democrats move to ditch bipartisan map, joining nationwide drive (Washington Times)
Mr. Trump looms large over Democrats’ reversal on redistricting, said Stephen J. Farnsworth, a political science professor at the University of Mary Washington. “Remember, Democrats are looking at the fact that Donald Trump, even now, refuses to accept that he lost the 2020 election,” Mr. Farnsworth said. “The world is very different when you think about the way that both parties accepted whether they won or lost elections before 2020.” Read more. 

What to know about the issues dominating the Virginia election (Washington Examiner)
“People are already anxious about the economic situation. The shutdown makes it much worse,” Stephen Farnsworth, a political science professor at the University of Mary Washington, previously told the Washington Examiner. Read more.

Virginia plan to redraw congressional map raises stakes for November races (The Washington Post)
“The stakes for Democratic control of the [Virginia] House just increased,” said Stephen J. Farnsworth, a political scientist at the University of Mary Washington. “The last-minute effort will draw a lot of attention to the races around the commonwealth.” Read more.

Can Jay Jones Still Win? (Washingtonian)
Stephen Farnsworth, professor of political science and international affairs at the University of Mary Washington, says the texts were shocking even by the jaded standards of modern politics and may have crossed a moral line that many Democrats—and Democratic-leaning independents—will find hard to ignore. Read more.

Virginia Election: A Fight Over Abortion and the Economy (La Presse, Montreal, Canada)
“There has always been a hesitancy in Virginia to put in place a structure that would allow for a concentration of power,” recalls Stephen Farnsworth, a professor of political science at the University of Mary Washington in Virginia. Read more.

Will Virginia’s race for governor be bellwether for congressional midterms? (WTOP)
“When you look at the election for governor of Virginia in this year, you really recognize that, at least right now, all politics are national,” said Stephen Farnsworth, professor of political science at the University of Mary Washington. Read more.

Democrats crowd into Virginia’s 2nd District race as Kiggans faces mounting headwinds (Virginia Mercury; WHRO)
“The 2nd District is probably the second most competitive district in Virginia, after the 7th District in the Fredericksburg area,” said Stephen Farnsworth, a political scientist at the University of Mary Washington. Read more.

Trump Meeting with Zelenskyy at White House (CTV News)
“Well, I think it is clear that the relationship between the Ukrainian president and the American president is much stronger than it has been,” said Stephen Farnsworth. Read more.

Those Violent Texts Won’t Tilt the Top of Virginia’s Ticket (Bloomberg)
“Jones has said some horrible things, and we will see if the voters find his behavior unforgivable. In these partisan times, many people are willing to forgive a great deal from politicians on their team and forgive nothing from people on the other team” said Stephen J. Farnsworth, a political science professor at the University of Mary Washington. “I expect that some Democrats will leave the AG line blank, which reduces the chances that Jones will win.” Read more.

Reaction: Virginia Attorney General Debate (DC News Now; Yahoo)
“Well, I thought both candidates did what they wanted to do going into this debate, said Stephen Farnsworth. Read more.

‘It has not been civil:’ Tensions high in Fredericksburg area ahead of Election Day (Fredericksburg Free Press)
“One of the key factors about the new timetable is that elections are occurring when partisan tensions are high,” said University of Mary Washington Professor Stephen Farnsworth, who specializes in political science and media affairs. “People are being primed by all these attack ads about how horrible the other side is, and it shouldn’t surprise anyone that a contentious political environment affects local races as well as state.” Read more.

Virginia AG debate: Miyares and Jones clash over texts, Trump allegiance (DC News Now; Yahoo; MSN)
“I do think both candidates were pretty effective in talking about the issues that they wanted to talk about. Jay Jones consistently talked about the Trump administration and tried to convince voters that they should look beyond the texting scandal. The Republicans in contrast are very much focused on the tax scandal,” said Stephen Farnsworth. Read more.

Donald Trump announces second peace summit with Putin on Ukraine (CHCH)
“It’s clear that President Trump really does want to see some progress here,” said Stephen Farnsworth, a political scientist with the University of Mary Washington. “That he’s coming back to this issue despite not having much success with it, I think, speaks volumes to that. ”Farnsworth says Trump wants to bring peace to Ukraine, after his successful peace talks in Gaza, but the big question is what will Putin do. Read more.

Threats against School Board, Combative Signage Raise Tensions (FXBG Advance)
“We live in increasingly combative times, nationally and locally,” said Stephen Farnsworth, professor of political science at the University of Mary Washington. “I think people should step back and think twice about the kind of harsh rhetoric we are seeing in a lot of places these days. We are all worse off if we can’t find a way to disagree without talking about hatred and violence.” Read more.

Republicans and Democrats remain deadlocked over a spending bill that would reopen the government. (The Wash)
Stephen Farnsworth, political science and international affairs at the University of Mary Washington, said the administration’s strategy of sustaining select programs while tightening pressure on Democrats suggests the shutdown may be less a short-term funding lapse than a calculated battle over the future of federal spending and health care policy. “Democrats find it difficult to make a deal with Republicans in Congress when the president has shown little interest in following the terms of existing laws on the federal budget,” Farnsworth said. Read more.

Spanberger holds on to edge in Virginia gubernatorial race (Almanac of American Politics)
The Jones controversy has given Republicans their strongest rallying cry of the entire campaign, which began slowly in general because both gubernatorial candidates were nominated without primary opposition. Still, Jones’ ticket-mates’ efforts to distance themselves from his’ words “should largely limit the impact” on their own campaigns, said Stephen J. Farnsworth, a University of Mary Washington political scientist.

The two wildcards shaping the tail end of the Virginia race for governor (National Public Radio; Georgia Pacific Broadcasting; WAMU)
The upheavals in government employment and contracting have created a “very, very damaging environment for Republicans” in the Virginia November election, said Stephen Farnsworth, a professor of political science at the University of Mary Washington. Spanberger, he noted, has led in most public polling by close to 10 points throughout the race. “A year ago, the economy was a great benefit to Republicans when they could talk about the Biden economy,” Farnsworth said. “But a year later, with a Republican governor and a Republican president, the Democrats are the ones who have the advantage in the economic conversation.” Read more.

In Focus: Virginia Attorney General race (WUSA9)
“Well, it’s absolutely the center of the conversation especially these last few weeks,” said Stephen Farnsworth. Read more.

Virginia’s attorney general candidates set to debate Thursday night (WUSA 9)
“I think there will be a significant amount of voters who are Democrats who will be hesitant to sign up for his campaign. I can imagine some democrats leaving that third line blank on the ballots,” said Stephen Farnsworth, political analyst at Mary Washington University. Read more.

Democrats Are Embracing Marjorie Taylor Greene (Newsweek)
Stephen Farnsworth, professor of political science at the University of Mary Washington, told Newsweek that Greene recognizes that the Epstein scandal “is not going away,” while other Republicans would “prefer not to recognize” that. Read more.