What Will Decide the 2024 Election?
With only 11 days left in the U.S. presidential election, surveys indicate that top issues for voters include the economy, health care, reproductive rights, the state of democracy, immigration, and foreign policy in a time of global conflict. Today’s Monday Outlook gathers economists, political scientists, computer scientists, and more to discuss key issues, each campaign’s strategy, and what this election could mean for our social, political, and legal landscape. As always, reporters can find scholars on any topic, including the 2024 election, through our Media Resources page and @UChicagoNews on Twitter. If you are on deadline and need to speak to someone, contact Evan Williams, media editor, via email at ejwilliams@uchicago.edu.
REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
Geoffrey Stone is an expert on constitutional law. With Lee Bollinger, he is the co-editor of Roe v. Dobbs: The Past, Present and Future of a Constitutional Right to Abortion, a volume of essays examining the impact of the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs. Stone can discuss its effect on the legal landscape writ large.
THE YOUTH VOTE
An expert on American politics, Cathy Cohen is the founder of the GenForward Survey and the Black Youth Project. She’s discussed the Harris campaign’s difficulties among young Black voters, as well as the broad importance of economic issues for young adult voters. Cohen can speak to what each campaign must do to win the youth vote.
CANDIDATES’ ECONOMIC PLANS
Steven Durlauf is the Director of the Stone Center for Research on Wealth Inequality and Mobility at UChicago’s Harris School of Public Policy. He’s discussed childhood poverty and the return of Americans’ inflation-adjusted incomes to pre-pandemic levels. Durlauf can compare Trump’s and Harris’s economic plans.
GLOBAL CONFLICTS
Paul Poast is a scholar of international politics, focusing on international security. He’s written on Americans’ perception of the war between Israel and Hamas, and commented on the growing alliance between Russia and North Korea. Poast can discuss which global conflicts are front of mind for voters, and how they may influence the election.
ELECTION MISINFORMATION
Molly Offer-Westort is a political scientist researching how people change their views and attitudes in response to information they engage with online. She can discuss possible interventions for combating online election misinformation, as well as the quality of the informational landscape during this election cycle.
THE AMERICAN ECONOMY
Carolin Pflueger is an economist interested in how inflation and monetary policy are linked to financial markets. She’s conducted research on the economic drivers of high inflation recessions, and discussed the Fed’s effort to stem inflation in the US. Pflueger can comment on the current trajectory of the American economy.
RHETORIC ON IMMIGRATION
Angela Garcia is a sociologist and expert on the consequences of socio-legal inclusion and exclusion for undocumented immigrants across the United States. She’s discussed the politics and efficacy of proposed federal immigration policies, and can comment on the effects of politicians’ recent rhetoric around immigrants and immigration.
MODERATING MISINFORMATION ONLINE
Marshini Chetty is a computer scientist and expert on human-computer interactions. She’s written about variations in content moderation policies on major social media platforms, especially as it pertains to hate speech and misinformation. Chetty can discuss mechanisms for improved content moderation online.
TRUMP’S RHETORICAL PATTERNS
Chenhao Tan is a computer scientist with expertise in human-centered AI, natural language processing, and large language models (LLMs). He’s written on how the structure of persuasive arguments shape human decision-making. Tan can speak to his latest research quantifying the eccentricities of former President Trump’s public speech.
