“There are a lot of scandals involving this defense secretary nominee,” said Stephen Farnsworth, professor of political science at the University of Mary Washington. “When you think about controlling the nuclear launch codes, you probably don’t want to give it to somebody if they are credibly accused of having a problem with alcohol. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a former member of Congress, would be an effective alternative choice for the position.”
“The higher voter turnout in the 1st District than the 7th demonstrates that a huge pile of money doesn’t always buy you high turnout,” said Stephen Farnsworth, a political scientist at the University of Mary Washington, which currently is located in the 7th district but was in the 1st before the 2021 redistricting.
“I think one of the things the president should have done is not saying he wasn’t going to do it, if he intended to do it,” said Stephen Farnsworth, professor of political science at the University of Mary Washington.
Professor of Political Science and Director of the University’s Center for Leadership and Media Studies, Stephen Farnsworth, recently presented an online lecture, “The Politics of Not Voting,” at the None of the Above Voter Mobilization Conference in Arlington, VA.
In addition, recent media mentions for Farnsworth include:
Second-wave Population Shifts Carry Vindman in Seventh (FXBG Advance)
Virginia’s sprawling Seventh Congressional District, which includes all or part of ten counties and the City of Fredericksburg, was one of the most sought-after congressional prizes nationally this year.
https://fxbgadvance.substack.com/p/second-wave-population-shifts-carry?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
Candidates line up for special elections to replace Virginia senators recently elected to US House (The Washington Post)
“It’s not impossible for the out party to win these districts, but a lot would have to go wrong for the dominant party to lose — a contentious nomination struggle, an extremely low turnout special election or a really energized out party,” said Stephen Farnsworth, a political science professor at the University of Mary Washington. “You would basically need a perfect storm followed by another perfect storm … Most of the time, perfect storms don’t happen.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/11/11/special-election-mcguire-subramanyam-virginia-senate/b7baba6c-a084-11ef-be87-1106a06524c6_story.html
2024 Election Recap: Virginia (DC News Now)
“Well, the polls all showed that this was going to be the state where the Democrats had the advantage,” said Stephen Farnsworth. https://www.dcnewsnow.com/news/capitol-review/2024-election-recap-on-capitol-review/<
Trump Announces Homan as Border Czar (CTV News Canada)
“Well, it’s important to recognize that Donald Trump makes a lot of promises. But, this one, I think above all immigration question is the promise that he intends to keep,” said Stephen Farnsworth. https://www.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=3027544
Commentary: Out of the blue? Virginia was purple all along (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
Tuesday’s election results in Virginia, where Democratic nominee Kamala Harris won the commonwealth’s electoral votes and the two major parties each went one-for-one in the two most volatile congressional districts (2 and 7), should demonstrate — once again — that Virginia has not become a blue state. https://richmond.com/opinion/column/election-harris-trump-virginia-competitive-purple/article_d98e6050-9d53-11ef-ba79-57e8be74d911.html#tracking-source=home-top-story
Trump’s agenda would mean profound change, from economy to federal workforce (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
“Donald Trump always pushed the political and legal systems as far as they could go,” said Stephen Farnsworth, a political scientist at the University of Mary Washington. https://richmond.com/news/state-regional/government-politics/elections/virginia-donald-trump-economy-port-immigration-nato/article_5025e9b4-9d17-11ef-b737-c79a5cd0e1c3.html
“First of all, when we think about the election, we have to recognize that this is kind of a standard retrospective voting election”, said Stephen Farnsworth, professor of political science at the University of Mary Washington. “Voters were unhappy about inflation increases during the Biden years and punished the Democratic candidates for that.”
“Well, there is absolutely no way to sugarcoat the consequences of something like this for cross-border trade. This would be an immense challenge for the American economy and for the Canadian economy,” said Stephen Farnsworth, professor of political science at the University of Mary Washington.
