Rutgers University–New Brunswick experts are available before, during and after the vice presidential debate on Wednesday. For interviews, reach out to the listed contacts.
- Ashley Koning, Director of Rutgers’ Eagleton Center for Public Polling and an Eagleton assistant research professor.
“Vice presidential debates typically have little impact on the presidential race, but this election cycle is anything but typical,” said Koning. “The presidential candidates are two of the oldest in history, and now the president himself has coronavirus. This could mean a potentially bigger spotlight for the VP picks, and among the two, Kamala Harris is seen as more favorable, on average, than Mike Pence, as well as President Trump and her own running mate, Joe Biden. But with Biden’s healthy and steady lead, the lack of bounces from conventions or the first presidential debate and election day only weeks away, it is hard to see the vice presidential debate as having much of a significant effect on the polls."
Koning is an expert American public opinion, survey design, polling trends and mass political behavior.
- Saladin Ambar, Eagleton associate professor of political science and senior scholar at the Eagleton Center on the American Governor.
“Wednesday's VP debate takes on greater importance as voters will get to assess how both candidates -- one because of age, the other because of health -- might lead the country should they be called upon to do so,” said Ambar.
Ambar is an expert on race and American politics, the president and American governors
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