“I think one of the things that distinguishes the Trump presidency from other precedencies is that Trump really relies primarily on his own judgement,” said Stephen Farnsworth, professor of political science at the University of Mary Washington and the author of “Spinner In Chief: How Presidents Sell Their Policies and Themselves.”
Category Archives: Media
Reviewing Virginia’s 2026 legislative session (Henrico Citizen)
Although Democrats now control the legislature and governor’s office, Stephen Farnsworth, a political scientist at the University of Mary Washington, said: “there are still big decisions to be hammered out regarding the budget and the regulation of data centers, to name two things.”
General Assembly gavels out 2026 session without budget agreement (VPM News)
The legislation going to Spanberger has already gone through a number of filters, said Stephen Farnsworth, a political science professor at the University of Mary Washington. “When you have a big Democratic majority, you do not need to keep every member happy all the time,” he said, referring to the House’s 64-seat majority. “That Democratic majority in the House gives the speaker, and the governor, the means of keeping things away from the governor that the governor doesn’t want to see.”
The 10 most important things that happened in Virginia’s 2026 legislative session (Virginia Mercury)
Stephen Farnsworth, a political scientist at the University of Mary Washington, said that when all the leaders in the executive and legislative branches belong to the same party, “that’s when the fights get interesting.”
Democrats zero in on Virginia redistricting as early voting begins (MSN)
“I think that a lot of the success or failure of this referendum will depend on the efforts to present this case to the voters,” said Stephen Farnsworth, professor of political science at the University of Mary Washington. “People are not used to voting in April in Virginia, and the referendum has been on again-off again, because of earlier court rulings. And so now that it is definitely proceeding, there will be a lot of effort to persuade voters on both sides of this question.”
Virginia Senate leadership sends a message after killing Spanberger agenda bill (WVTF)
University of Mary Washington political science professor Stephen Farnsworth told Radio IQ, “When everybody is on the same team that’s when things get interesting.”





