2008 Woodie Awards
WU panel discusses midterm elections
By: Anna Forder
Issue date: 11/2/06 Section: News
A panel discussion was held Oct. 26 in the University Center Sunnen Lounge to address issues surrounding the upcoming midterm elections. The panelists addressed various elements facing candidates and voters this November, and they discussed whether the Democrats will make gains or the Republicans will hold control. The speakers, all Webster professors, included former Gov. Bob Holden, Laura Arnold, Jim Brasfield and Gwyneth Williams.
Williams, a professor of history, politics and international relations, addressed trends in voting behavior. She said there is a generalization in politics that a current president's party will lose Congressional seats in midterm elections. She said this is a commonly-held assumption because many elected officials are voted into office on the president's coattails.
Williams said people who are disgruntled with the president's administration tend to come out for a midterm election and vote in favor of the opposition party in an attempt to punish the president through punishing his party. She cited the midterm elections during the Eisenhower and Nixon administrations as examples of this behavior.
She said an exception to this voting pattern was the 1998 midterm election during the Clinton administration, during which the House was impeaching Clinton. She said voters who did not support the impeachment came out in favor of Democrats that year, and the Democrats made gains.
Williams also addressed the voting gap between various demographics, including race, religion and income. The number of people in each demographic that voted for a certain party, candidate or issue is determined, and the difference between the way people voted within a demographic is the voting gap.
She said the income gap decreased in the 2004 elections because concerns about the war overrode concerns about income. She said typically there is a large voting gap in gender, but that gap also was smaller in the 2004 elections. She attributed this to more Southern women voting similarly to men.
Williams, a professor of history, politics and international relations, addressed trends in voting behavior. She said there is a generalization in politics that a current president's party will lose Congressional seats in midterm elections. She said this is a commonly-held assumption because many elected officials are voted into office on the president's coattails.
Williams said people who are disgruntled with the president's administration tend to come out for a midterm election and vote in favor of the opposition party in an attempt to punish the president through punishing his party. She cited the midterm elections during the Eisenhower and Nixon administrations as examples of this behavior.
She said an exception to this voting pattern was the 1998 midterm election during the Clinton administration, during which the House was impeaching Clinton. She said voters who did not support the impeachment came out in favor of Democrats that year, and the Democrats made gains.
Williams also addressed the voting gap between various demographics, including race, religion and income. The number of people in each demographic that voted for a certain party, candidate or issue is determined, and the difference between the way people voted within a demographic is the voting gap.
She said the income gap decreased in the 2004 elections because concerns about the war overrode concerns about income. She said typically there is a large voting gap in gender, but that gap also was smaller in the 2004 elections. She attributed this to more Southern women voting similarly to men.
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