As Election Day nears, KU experts can discuss candidates, issues

LAWRENCE – As a highly contentious U.S. election season heads into its final month, University of Kansas political experts are available to discuss candidates, key issues and procedures ahead of the Nov. 3 election:

Robin Rowland is a longtime professor of rhetoric and scholar whose latest book, “The Rhetoric of Donald Trump: Nationalist Populism and American Democracy,” will be published in January by University of Kansas Press. He won the award for the best journal article of 2019, given by the Political Communication Division of the National Communication Association, for his article in Rhetoric & Public Affairs titled "The populist and nationalist roots of Trump's rhetoric.” He recently gave a podcast interview on Trump’s rhetoric and offered comments on how to improve the presidential debate process following the televised Sept. 29 event between Trump and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden.

Brett Bricker is a Department of Communication Studies faculty member and assistant coach for KU’s nationally ranked debate team. He co-wrote a chapter in the 2016 book “Debating the Donald,” which analyzed Trump’s performances in the intraparty debates that led up to him winning the GOP nomination.

To arrange an interview with Rowland or Bricker, contact Rick Hellman, KU public affairs officer, at rick_hellman@ku.edu.

Raj Bhala, Brenneisen Distinguished Professor of Law, is among the world’s foremost scholars in international trade law. He can discuss the Sino-American trade war, trade deals such as the Trans Pacific Partnership, the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement, WTO affairs, the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on global supply chains and ramifications for trade of the U.S. election process and outcome. Bhala can also discuss international relations between the U.S. and the Islamic world, India, the Iran Nuclear Deal and how the election shapes these relations. 

Brandon Davis, assistant professor of public affairs & administration, can discuss political representation, electoral competition and political participation. Davis’ research examines public policy and its intersection with race, ethnicity, law and society. He has published research showing that contact with the criminal justice system affects the level of trust people have in government and their intentions to take part politically in activities. His work has shown that carceral contact impacts family members as well and that it also negatively affects individuals’ sense of well-being, which also reduces political participation, especially in communities of color.

Alesha Doan, professor in the School of Public Affairs & Administration and women, gender & sexuality studies, can address national and state political issues related to women, legislation and topics of abortion and reproductive policy. She has written several books on the decades-long debate surrounding abortion policy in America and can address social and legal battles over the practice, including Trump’s nomination of Amy Coney Barrett for the Supreme Court and the ramifications on reproductive rights.

Mark Johnson, lecturer in the William Allen White School of Journalism & Mass Communications, can discuss election law, campaign law, disputed election results, campaign finance and related topics. He can also discuss the ramifications of Trump's recent positive COVID-19 test result and how the election will proceed if he becomes incapacitated or dies from the illness. In addition to serving as lead counsel in Kansas voting rights cases, Johnson holds a history degree from Yale University and a law degree from Harvard University, and he is a founder of the Kansas City office of Dentons US LLP, an international firm, where he represents media companies, telecommunications companies, wireless carriers and cable companies.

Meagan Patterson, associate professor of educational psychology, can discuss elections, politics and children. Patterson has published research on what school-age children know about politics and elections as well as how parents can talk about difficult topics such as immigration and gender in politics with their children. She has also published research examining how picture books represent political processes and positions of power and historical political leaders.

To arrange an interview with Bhala, Davis, Doan, Johnson or Patterson, contact Mike Krings, KU public affairs officer, at mkrings@ku.edu.

David Farber, Roy A. Roberts Distinguished Professor in the Department of History, can discuss the history of modern conservatism, capitalism in 20th-century U.S. history, democratic practices and social change movements, particularly how those of the 1960s and 1970s relate to events of today. Farber is the author of more than a dozen books, including “The Rise and Fall of Modern American Conservatism,” “The Age of Great Dreams: America in the 1960s” and “Taken Hostage: The Iran Hostage Crisis and America’s First Encounter with Radical Islam.”  

Don Haider-Markel, professor and chair of the Department of Political Science, can speak about national political trends and potential policy implications. His research includes American politics and public policy that deals with a wide number of issues, including gun ownership, military service controversies and LGBTQ politics. 

Mark Joslyn, professor of political science, can discuss issues of partisanship and political attitudes. He is co-author of several studies on what influences voter attitudes, including level of education, gun rights and understanding of genetics. He has just written the book “The Gun Gap,” which captures the differences between gun owners and non-gun owners, and shows how this gap improves conventional behavioral and attitudinal models. 

Patrick Miller, associate professor of political science, studies American politics and attitudes of partisanship, among other topics, and he has served as lead author on studies about gender politics and partisan rivalry. Miller monitors Kansas and national polling made available and tweets analysis. He is also available to comment on elections and campaign finance, public opinion and surveys, media and politics, and race and politics. 

Kevin Mullinix, assistant professor of political science, examines the extent to which political parties and elected officials shape the public’s attitudes toward various policies. His past articles include studies of police use of excessive force, wrongful convictions and racial disparities in traffic stops.  

David Roediger, Foundation Distinguished Professor of American Studies and in history, writes on how race and class intersect with politics. His 1991 book “The Wages of Whiteness: Race and the Making of the American Working Class” is considered one of the foundational works in whiteness studies. His latest book, “The Sinking Middle Class: A Political History,” refutes the concept that the United States is a middle-class nation, while tracing the history of how the designation became a vote-pandering issue for rival parties. 

Paul Schumaker, professor emeritus of political science, is an expert in community politics and political theory. His new book, “The Twenty-Eighth Amendment? Beyond Abolishing the Electoral College,” details a strategy for replacing the electoral college. He’s also the author of a “Choosing a President: The Electoral College and Beyond,” “Critical Pluralism, Democratic Performance, and Community Power” and “From Ideologies to Public Philosophies.” 

To arrange an interview with Farber, Haider-Markel, Joslyn, Miller, Mullinix, Roediger or Schumaker, contact Jon Niccum, KU public affairs officer, at  jniccum@ku.edu.