Jesse Richman
Michelle Kundmueller
Benjamin Melusky
Joshua Zingher
By Amy Matzke-Fawcett
A group of Old Dominion University experts will discuss presidential primaries, their impacts and what they can tell us about the 2020 election moving forward on March 3.
"What's Up with the Presidential Primaries?" is a discussion with University faculty from the Department of Political Science and Geography: Assistant professors Michelle Kundmueller, Benjamin Melusky and Joshua Zingher; and Associate Professor Jesse Richman. The panel will be moderated by department Chair Jonathan Leib.
The event will take place from 12:20 to 1:30 p.m. at the Darden College of Education & Professional Studies, room 1112. It's free and open to the public.
The panelists will give insight into results from states that have previously held primaries, discussions of the candidates, their issues and campaigns, projections and predictions for Super Tuesday, and discussions of how primaries work. Panelists will also answer questions from the audience about electoral systems.
The primaries are interesting because they are often seen as simplistic, when they actually highlight the flux, change and strategy of elections and the months leading up to them, Richman said.
The round of primaries on March 3 (known as Super Tuesday) will also mark the first time New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg will appear on ballots, providing a test of his campaign's potential strength, Richman said.
"There's a lot of stuff to dig into and look at in terms of where this all goes," Richman said. "For example, we can try to ascertain how different candidates on the Democratic side will do in general elections versus Trump. And not all of our panelists agree."