By Matthew Kredell
With the upcoming election on everyone’s minds, the USC Price School of Public Policy hosted an informal town hall discussion on its key issues and potential outcomes, as part of Trojan Family Weekend.
USC Price Assistant Professors Pamela McCann and Michael Thom took questions on the policy implications of the state and national elections from Associate Dean of External Affairs John Sonego and a standing-room crowd of parents from USC Price and other schools across the university during the Oct. 7 event at Lewis Hall.
McCann opened with some statistical analysis of the election. She noted that Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton was given a 79 percent chance of winning the presidency by FiveThirtyEight.com. In the Senate, Republicans enter having 54 members compared to 45 for the Democrats, but 24 of the 34 seats up for election are held by Republicans, meaning control of the Senate could go either way. The next president and senate could potentially be responsible for placing three or more Supreme Court justices, as there are three justices age 78 or older.
McCann said the House of Representatives is likely to stay in a Republican majority, as are the majority of state governors in the country. Twelve states are having gubernatorial elections, which matter for national, state and local politics.
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Sonego asked about the effect two highly polarizing candidates for president could have on the election. “I think a fair number of people will probably not vote either way on president but still show up for the lower-ballot races,” Thom responded.
The faculty also spoke about what causes the extremist nature of politics today. Thom pointed out that there isn’t any moderate cable news network. “You don’t get a TV show [being a moderate host],” Thom said. “So what we do see on television are the most extreme views because that’s what gets people to watch and drives ad revenue.”
Thom wasn’t sure how to interrupt that system without violating freedom of speech. McCann added that it’s not something the president can change. It needs to build from the ground up, and she wasn’t sure whether we were ready to do that as a country.
McCann pointed to the presidential primary system as another reason for fewer moderate candidates and voters.
“To get through your party’s primary, you have to appeal to the people who turn out for the primary election — and it’s not the moderate voters who typically turn out,” McCann said. “You have to go way to the right or way to the left to get through the primary gate, and the individual who made it through, either pivots back to center and people say they waffle, or they stay where they are; and that’s how we end up missing the middle more and more.”
In addition to the election town hall, USC Price hosted several other events as part of Trojan Family Weekend, including a conversation on “the Real R.O.I.” of a Price undergraduate education, a Dean’s breakfast, and a LEAP (Learning to Excel Academically and Professionally) hosted wine and cheese parents reception to wrap up the three-day activities.