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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)

Alex Theodoridis, political science, and co-director of the UMass Amherst Poll, is interviewed about the recent UMass Poll of former members of Congress showing rising concerns about threats of political violence related to next year’s presidential election. “Eighty-four percent said that they are concerned about violence in the 2024 election, and that’s actually very similar to what we’ve seen the last couple elections from voters,” he says. (KMOX [St. Louis], 12/12/23; News Office release)

 

Lauren McCarthy, legal studies and political science, has co-authored a piece on forms of anti-war protest in Russia: "It is unique in both scale and dedication when compared to anti-war movements in recent history, yet Western discourse largely doesn’t understand it."

“Newsom embodies California in both his style and politics. How will that play with Midwestern voters who are suspicious of San Francisco politicians who hang out in wine country?” Ray La Raja, political science and co-director of the UMass Poll, says California Governor Gavin Newsom could have an image problem if he runs for president.

Commenting on recent polling showing President Joe Biden with less support going into the 2024 election than he had in 2020, Alexander Theodoridis, political science, says, “Once Democrats come to terms with the fact that Biden will be the nominee (and, more importantly, that Trump will in all likelihood be the GOP nominee), a lot of the internal malaise expressed in current polls should dissipate.”(The New York Times, 12/6/23)

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