Raymond La Raja, political science and co-director of the UMass Amherst Poll, is quoted in an article prior to the House passing the debt ceiling increase examining the impact the debt ceiling negotiations may have on the 2024 presidential campaign. “Most Americans, like the stock markets, assume there’s going to be a deal made,” La Raja says. “I think most of them want a deal. They like a deal. Most people like compromise. It’s the people at the extremes who don’t like compromise.” (The National Desk, 5/31/23)

An April UMassPoll finding that nearly four in 10 Massachusetts residents have contemplated leaving the state for a more affordable locale is cited in an article by the Boton Globe  on the tax package recently unveiled in the Massachusetts Senate. (Boston Globe, 6/8/23)

Paul Musgrave comments on heightened interest in the foreign policy of Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar after Republicans ousted her from the House Foreign Affairs Committee.“Since she came into office, Rep. Omar has been not just an officeholder but a symbol of a diverse country and a broadening of the Democratic caucus. In some ways, she’s sought out a prominent role — but in other ways, it’s her opponents who have made her prominent,” Musgrave says. “Now, she’s freer to act and represent not only her constituents but broader groups precisely because she’s prominent and credible on these issues.” (Minneapolis Star Tribune, Roll Call, 6/8/23)

Jesse Rhodes, political science and co-director of the UMass Amherst Poll, spoke to students from five area high schools on the theme of voting rights during a Law Day event organized by the Northwestern district attorney’s office at the Hampshire County Courthouse. Rhodes explained why voting matters, highlighting the fact that younger people are much less likely to vote than older people. Eighteen-to-29-year-olds are the most diverse generation in U.S. history, he said, and their political priorities — climate change, racial justice, reproductive rights — are different from those of older generations. (Daily Hampshire Gazette, 5/4/23)