presidential elections
The Author’s Corner with Donald A. Zinman
Donald A. Zinman is Professor of Political Science at Grand Valley State University. This interview is based on his new book, America’s First Wartime Election: James Madison, DeWitt Clinton, and the War of 1812 (University Press of Kansas, 2024). JF: […]
Cheering for baseball teams and presidential candidates
What to do when neither sports nor politics offer us our first choice to cheer for?
The Challenges of Assessing Presidential Candidates’ Character
Evangelicals in 1976 wanted to vote for the candidate with the most integrity, but could not agree who that was.
“Electing the President” is an amazing digital resource for understanding the popular vote in presidential elections from 1840-2020
I could play around on this site for hours on end. From the website: “Most presidential election maps emphasize the candidates and parties who won or lost the Electoral College. Electing the President shifts the focus to American voters, highlighting the […]
What are evangelicals saying about Trump’s speech last night?
The GOP convention is over. Trump made his case last night in a long, rambling, and undisciplined speech. Check out our live-blogging of the night here. So what are evangelicals saying after the Trump speech? It seems like many MAGA […]
How Wilt Chamberlain helped Richard Nixon win Black voters
Here is Shaun Assael at Politico: Wilt Chamberlain, the biggest basketball star in the world, folded his long legs into the taxi and climbed beside Richard Nixon. It was April 9, 1968, and the two had just attended Martin Luther […]
What if Biden and Trump tied?
Joshua Zeitz asks us to remember the Election of 1824: In the case of a tie, which hasn’t happened in exactly 200 years, the House decides the election, per the 12th Amendment, with each state delegation allotted one vote. Republicans […]
Too old to be president?
Is Joe Biden too old to serve another term as president? Everyone seems to be talking about this as the 2024 election approaches. But did you know that debates over presidential age are not new? Readers of a certain age […]
Presidential candidates love Animal House
Why do candidates keep campaigning at the famous movie frat house on the campus of Dartmouth University? Here is Sam Stein at Politico: There are a number of spots on the campus of Dartmouth College that would serve as bucolic […]
“His rotundity” versus a supposed atheist and anarchist
Over at his Substack, historian William Hogeland is telling “lurid tales” of American elections. He begins his series with the presidential election of 1796. Here is a taste of his post: Jefferson supporters, labeling Adams “His Rotundity,” claimed that the […]
Ex-presidents who ran again
After tonight, Donald Trump will be the fifth former president on this list. As Joshua Zeitz reminds us at Politico, only four former presidents ran again after they were voted out of office. They are Martin Van Buren, Grover Cleveland, […]
The populist 1896 campaign of William Jennings Bryan
William Jennings Bryan was the first American presidential candidate to turn political campaigning into an art form. Economist Johannes Buggle explains at the Broadstreet blog. Here’s a taste of his post, “Do Local Campaign Visits By a Populist Politician Matter […]
Blowout counties
Over at Sabatos’ Crystal Ball, Rhodes Cook talks about “blowout presidential counties” with Jon Karl of ABC News and Rep. Rho Khanna (D-CA). Here are the takeaways: “More than 20% of the nation’s counties gave 80% or more of its […]