Farnsworth Lectures on Virginia Politics
Stephen Farnsworth, Professor of Political Science and director of the University’s Center for Leadership and Media Studies, recently presented a lecture, “Reviewing the 2022 Midterm Elections and Previewing the 2023 Legislative Session,” at the Virginia Business Journal Forum in Richmond.
Farnsworth also has received several recent media mentions, including:
Virginia Special Election Could Change Future of Abortion Rights (WRC TV DC)
“If the Republicans retain this seat and it is a 21-19 Senate, then any deal that Republicans might make with Senator Morrissey on the abortion restrictions but could get to a 20-20 tie and that tie be broken by the Republican pro-life Lieutenant Governor,” said Stephen Farnsworth.
General Assembly to reconvene in Richmond (Cardinal News)
“A lot of lawmakers have new districts, some of them are running against each other, and as a result the top priority is going to be a session that ends promptly,” said Stephen J. Farnsworth, a political scientist at the University of Mary Washington. “That means a lot more of the contentious issues will be stalled, killed in committee perhaps or maybe kept off the agenda until next year. “
Five Senate Democrats who could retire ahead of 2024 (The Hill; World Journal; Enough Grassley)
Plus, a survey from the Center for Leadership and Media Studies at the University of Mary Washington released last September suggested Kaine and Youngkin would be tied in a hypothetical match-up in 2024, with the governor receiving 39 percent and Kaine receiving 41 percent. The margin of error for the survey was plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
Abortion, taxes, politics ahead for Virginia’s General Assembly (The Washington Post)
The end result — on abortion and maybe other issues, too — could wind up being gridlock, said Stephen Farnsworth, a political analyst at the University of Mary Washington.
McCarthy Elected House Speaker (CTV News)
“You are looking at an environment in which there was a tiny Republican majority to start with and that required, therefore, to get the full majority of Congress, the acquiesce of those Republican extremists, those more mega Republicans who really wanted to see a very very weak speaker,” said Stephen Farnsworth.
Trump’s “free speech” reform of government, universities, media and tech corporations if elected in 2024 (News US)
Stephen Farnsworth, a political science professor at the University of Mary Washington, dismissed Trump’s proposals as “something to build power among his supporters” after a soaked start to the crusade.
Virginia 7th Senate Election (WMAL)
“It wouldn’t all that much because if even there were some deal the Republicans could reach with Senator Morrissey, there would still be twenty-one other Democrats in the Senate,” said Stephen Farnsworth.
Virginia Legislation Session 1 (WMAL)
“That means Republicans and Democrats will have to agree to get anything accomplished and the prospects for that are not particularly good,” said Stephen Farnsworth.
Virginia Legislation Session 2 (WMAL)
“There is going to be some effort to try to ramp up funding for mental health in the schools,” said Stephen Farnsworth.
Abortion, taxes, politics ahead for Virginia’s General Assembly (Blacksburg Dispatch)
That outcome could extend to other difficult topics as well, said University of Mary Washington political analyst Stephen Farnsworth. “I think the main goal for most lawmakers in this session will be to get back to the district and run for reelection as soon as possible,” Farnsworth said. “Anything that can be delayed likely will be delayed.”
Legislative season likely to bring controversy (Fluvanna Review)
Stephen Farnsworth, a political analyst at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, told The Washington Post that he thinks the main goal for lawmakers this session “will be to get back to the district and run for reelection as soon as possible. Anything that can be delayed likely will be delayed.”
Gov. Youngkin calls on lawmakers to ‘come together’ on abortion while pushing 15-week ban (DC News Now)
But Stephen Farnsworth, a political science professor at the University of Mary Washington, said any abortion efforts are unlikely to see success in this divided government during an election year. “With 100 House of Delegates seats and 40 Senate seats up for election in November, these lawmakers are going to put off whatever they possibly can,” he said.
Biden Documents (CTV News)
“In terms of how it looks, it looks bad. For the last several months you had the Biden administration criticizing the Trump handling of documents and now it looks like the shoe is on the other foot,” said Stephen Farnsworth.
Biden Documents (CTV News)
Legislative season likely to bring controversy (Fluvanna Review)
Gov. Youngkin calls on lawmakers to ‘come together’ on abortion while pushing 15-week ban (DC News Now)
Abortion, taxes, politics ahead for Virginia’s General Assembly (The Washington Post)
General Assembly to reconvene in Richmond (Cardinal News)
Virginia Special Election Could Change Future of Abortion Rights (WRC TV DC)
Farnsworth Lectures on U.S. Politics in Washington to Norwegian Conference
Professor of Political Science Stephen Farnsworth
Stephen Farnsworth, professor of Political Science and director of the University’s Center for Leadership and Media Studies, recently presented a lecture, “President Biden, the Media and the 2022 Midterm Elections,” at the Norwegian Washington Seminar in Washington, DC.
In addition, recent media mentions for Stephen Farnsworth include:
Social media giant layoffs signal opportunity for online misinformation, bad faith attacks (Courthouse News Service)
Stephen Farnsworth, a political science professor at University of Mary Washington, said government officials will have to work harder to prove they are authority figures. Otherwise, social media websites will lose credibility.
Trump Calling for Suspension of Constitution (Trending Now; YouTube)
“A lot of people have lost a lot of money betting that Donald Trump has finally gone too far,” said Stephen Farnsworth.
Election Day in Georgia (CTV News)
“The Democrats have a majority in the Senate already, but if they end up with 50 seats instead of a 50-51 tie that would mean a greater Democratic control over committees and over the process of legislation moving through the Senate,” said Stephen Farnsworth.
Is Georgia Still a Republican State? (YouTube)
“I think it is important to recognize how much of the difficulty the Republicans face here has to do with the quality of the candidate,” said Stephen Farnsworth.
Trevor Noah Says Goodbye to ‘The Daily Show,’ With Just a Few Tears (The Wall Street Journal)
“What Trevor Noah brought to the show above all was a much greater international and multicultural orientation,” said Stephen Farnsworth, professor of political science at the University of Mary Washington and co-author of the book “Late Night with Trump: Political Humor and the American Presidency.” “That was unusual in the very white world of late-night comedy.”
https://www.wsj.com/articles/trevor-noah-final-daily-show-goodbye-11670608926?st=nkx2eawzjjk9b9l&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink
Trump vows ‘free speech’ reform of government, universities, media, tech firms if elected in 2024 (CNBC, True Viral News, Birmingham Daily Journal, Times of News, TheBlog101)
Stephen Farnsworth, professor of political science at University of Mary Washington, dismissed Trump’s proposals as “something to generate energy among his supporters”. If the plan came to that, it wouldn’t succeed legislatively or judicially. He said that Trump was trying to change the narrative after many of his candidates lost.https://www.cnbc.com/2022/12/15/trump-vows-free-speech-reform-of-government-universities-tech.htmlhttps://trueviralnews.com/163656-trump-vows-free-speech-reform-of-government-universities-media-tech-firms-if-elected-in-2024.htmlhttps://birminghamdailyjournal.com/trump-vows-free-speech-reform-of-government-universities-tech/
https://usa.timesofnews.com/breaking-news/political/trump-vows-free-speech-reform-of-government-universities-media-tech-firms-if-elected-in-2024.html
https://www.theblog101.com/trump-vows-free-speech-reform-of-government-universities-tech/
Is Trump’s Campaign in Jeopardy (CTV News)
It really is early but certainly the signs are not encouraging for the people who want to support a Donald Trump 2024 campaign.
https://www.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=2584593
Crowded out-Elections overshadow 2023 state legislative agenda (Virginia Business)Also, notes University of Mary Washington political science professor Stephen Farnsworth, “one of the areas in which Virginia has not done well is unemployment assistance.” Kilgore says that if the VEC doesn’t have to worry about workforce training, it will be able to focus on more efficiently handling unemployment claims.https://www.virginiabusiness.com/article/crowded-out/The Main Event (Virginia Business)University of Mary Washington Professor Stephen Farnsworth says that the newly drawn districts — determined in December 2021 by two Virginia Supreme Court-appointed special masters who did not take incumbents’ residences into consideration — favor Democrats because of population dispersal. Younger, more Democratic-leaning voters live in urban and suburban areas, while more conservative rural regions are losing population and seats, he notes.https://www.virginiabusiness.com/article/the-main-event-2/Is the right winning the comedy wars? (Vox News)
Stephen Farnsworth, a political scientist and the co-author of Late Night with Trump: Political Humor and the American Presidency, says this split is exacerbated by the increasingly polarized conservative news landscape.https://www.vox.com/the-highlight/23440579/comedy-wars-greg-gutfeld-jon-stewart-stephen-colbert-liberal-conservativePreviewing the 4th District Democrat firehouse primary (WVTF)The February 21st date for the special election requires quick action to nominate candidates, says Stephen Farnsworth at the University of Mary Washington.https://www.wvtf.org/news/2022-12-19/previewing-the-4th-district-democrat-firehouse-primaryEditorial: The 27th will test Trump-adjacent strategy (The Free Lance-Star)“The Youngkin strategy has always been to be Trump adjacent,” says University of Mary Washington professor Stephen Farnsworth, who also directs the Center for Leadership and Media Studies. It’s sure to be part of Youngkin’s presumed run for the White House in 2024.https://fredericksburg.com/opinion/editorial/editorial-the-27th-will-test-trump-adjacent-strategy/article_19ba92e6-7d96-11ed-8231-4b4b1619ab89.htmlOpinion: For Jennifer McClellan, and Virginia, history awaits (Richmond Times-Dispatch)Attorney and longtime Democratic strategist Paul Goldman, a former law partner with Morrissey, filed a federal lawsuit challenging the primary’s timing and organization — none of the eight polling locations, for example, were in Morrissey’s home district in Chesterfield — but the high turnout and overwhelming result “are not optimal for further developments” in a suit that largely argues Democrats were attempting to suppress voter participation, says Stephen Farnsworth, professor of political science at the University of Mary Washington.https://richmond.com/opinion/editorial/opinion-for-jennifer-mcclellan-and-virginia-history-awaits/article_e3a8d59f-5f31-50df-a53e-978312c5e373.htmlTrump promises free speech reform in government, academia and tech (News Net Daily)Stephen Farnsworth, a professor of political science at the University of Mary Washington, dismissed Trump’s proposals as “something to generate energy among his supporters” after a soggy campaign kickoff.https://newsnetdaily.com/trump-promises-free-speech-reform-in-government-academia-and-tech/Trump’s Tax Returns Released (CTV News)“I think there are two basic issues that need to be resolved here,” said Stephen Farnsworth.https://www.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=2593049January 6 Committee Report (CHQR, Calgary)“The January 6 Committee over the summer and since has been producing a voluminous report of all of the ways in which Donald Trump tried to keep the Congress from ratifying the election of Joe Biden and that leads to a whole series of questions with respect to his conduct,” said Stephen Farnsworth.https://dcs.megaphone.fm/CORU1334431190.mp3?key=8a8ea6528b3f853fea38933e05d85100&request_event_id=d89c2484-a067-43a8-8d51-e18023994951What happens next to former Pres. Trump? Does the Justice Dept. actually charge him? (KNX Radio, Los Angeles)“Well, political violence in America can occur when one person with a gun decides to shoot up a school, synagogue or place of government action. So, to imagine that anything anyone does in these very contentious times is going to provide sweetness and like for all concerned is unrealistic,” said Stephen Farnsworth.https://omny.fm/shows/knxam-on-demand/what-happens-next-to-former-pres-trump-does-the-juJanuary 6 Final Public Meeting (CTV News Canada)“It is going to be more or less a programmatic event that will give people a chance to see some of the evidence that the Committee has collected,” said Stephen Farnsworth.https://www.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=2587444
‘He had a different perspective’: how Trevor Noah changed late night satire (The Guardian; US News Hub)
Stephen Farnsworth, co-author of Late Night with Trump: Political Humor and the American Presidency, said: “One of the great contributions that Trevor Noah made to political humour in this country was the provision of a much more international and multicultural orientation.