The stage is set for the second Republican presidential debate tonight in California. Seven candidates are looking to be the party’s alternative to former President Donald Trump, who is not participating in tonight’s debate. Trump skipped the first debate and has suggested he might bypass them all.
Faculty experts at the George Washington University are available to offer insight, commentary and analysis on a number of topics related to the U.S. presidential election and GOP debates.
Todd Belt is the director of the Political Management Program at the GW Graduate School of Political Management. Belt is an expert on the presidency, campaigns and elections, mass media and politics, public opinion, and political humor. In addition to his expertise, Belt is co-author of four books and helps to run GW’s political poll.
Matthew Dallek, professor of political management, is a political historian whose intellectual interests include the intersection of social crises and political transformation, the evolution of the modern conservative movement, and liberalism and its critics. He has authored and co-authored four books, including, “The Right Moment: Ronald Reagan’s First Victory and the Decisive Turning Point in American Politics.”
Peter Loge is the director of the School of Media and Public Affairs. Loge has nearly 30 years of experience in politics and communications, including a presidential appointment at the Food and Drug Administration and senior positions for Sen. Edward Kennedy and three members of the U.S. House of Representatives. He currently leads the Project on Ethics in Political Communication at the School of Media and Public Affairs and continues to advise advocates and organizations. Loge can discuss candidate discourse around democracy and what he hopes to see from the candidates as well as Trump’s absence from the debates.
-GW-