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Reporting on efforts to enact reparations policies in California and New York cites a 2023 UMass Amherst Poll finding that 36% of Americans supported providing reparations for descendants of enslaved people. Read More

Alexander Theodoridis, Professor of Political Science and Co-Director of the UMass Poll, is one of 10 political experts weighing in on the expected Joe Biden-Donald Trump presidential rematch.  “Given the slow pace of the U.S. Justice System and the likelihood of protracted appeals, I do not expect the multiple lawsuits filed against Trump to pose a practical obstacle to his presidential campaign,” Theodoridis says. “I also don’t think the long list of accusations against the former president significantly weakens the support he enjoys amongst most Republican voters.” (Le Grand Continent [France], 1/15/24)

“Even if the process engineering uses clean materials, what energy source will the company be using to provide its electricity, and what provisions are in place to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions from the factory?” Peter M. Haas, professor emeritus of political science, wrote a reply to an article about an incoming clean-tech cement plant coming to Holyoke. Read More >

Charli Carpenter, political science, legal studies, and director of the Human Security Lab, writes about positive developments in human security. “But for all the bad news last year, 2023 also showed that the world has the right tools to ensure human security globally, and its citizens are using them and will continue doing so in the year to come,” she notes. Read More >

Judge Charles Groce III, legal studies Professor of Practice and presiding justice of the Springfield Drug Court, was featured in a recent news story. “We recognized that all the punishment and adjudication has not in any way, shape or form significantly impacted the plague of addiction and has not assisted us in keeping folks out of the criminal justice system. So,” says Groce, “we're trying a more revolutionary and radical approach.” Read More >

A 2023 UMass Poll showing that about 1 in 6 Americans, and 1 in 3 Republicans, think “patriot” is a good descriptor for those who participated in the Jan. 6, 2021  events at the U.S. Capitol is cited in a column about differences in how the event is characterized by former President Donald Trump and by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. (The Washington Post, 1/5/24; News Office release)

Paul Collins, legal studies and political science, comments on the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision barring former President Donald Trump from that state’s presidential primary ballot. “It’s almost impossible to believe that the [U.S.] Supreme Court will not accept this case,” Collins says. “It addresses a matter of exceptional importance, and the question of whether the 14th Amendment’s disqualification clause applies to presidents is a question that has not been answered by the Supreme Court before.” (El País [Spain], 12/21/23; The Boston Globe, Daily Hampshire Gazette, 12/21/23)

Alex Theodoridis, Professor of Political Science and Co-Director of the UMass Amherst Poll, appeared on the Science of Politics podcast to discuss the recent UMass Amherst Poll of former members of Congress. "I think one of the findings that has really stood out is this gap between Republican former members of Congress in our survey and the Republican electorate, and then obviously not based on polling information, but based on public stances taken, the gap between these former Republican members of Congress and current Republican members of Congress and elected officials more broadly" says Theodoridis. (Niskanen Center, 01/10/24)

Jesse Rhodes, Professor of Political Science quoted in NPR report on conservative legal challenges to the Voting Rights Act. "Conservative legal activist groups are trying out a variety of pretty radical claims that would have been beyond the pale 10, 15, 20 years ago," says Jesse Rhodes, who wrote Ballot Blocked: The Political Erosion of the Voting Rights Act. "But now that there's this very conservative majority, they think, 'Why not? Let's give it a shot.' And they're hoping that some of these sets of claims will stick." (NPR, 01/06/24)

Raymond La Raja, Professor of Political Science and Co-Director of the UMass Amherst Poll, is quoted in an article examining whether state Republican parties could run out of money. “These state parties are not getting contributions because the traditional big donors do not trust them with their money,” La Raja says. “What you are seeing in some parties is a rejection of the MAGA brand by donors.” (Governing, 12/7/23)

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