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 (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)
“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.