One Year Out: Emersonians Talk 2020 at the National Press Club

What role will impeachment hearings play in the 2020 election? How is the Democratic primary race influencing President Trump’s poll ratings? Does any Democratic presidential candidate beside the three frontrunners have a chance? How will Democratic Party rule changes influence primary delegations? What surprises might we anticipate?

These were the issues discussed last week, exactly one year out from the 2020 election, by Emerson faculty, students, alumni, and friends gathered at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.

The evening featured a panel of alumni and faculty experts, including:

• Susan Del Percio ’90, MA ’91, founder and principal of Susan Del Percio Strategies, MSNBC political analyst
• Larry Rasky ’78, chairman and CEO of Rasky Partners, former Biden campaign staffer and current treasurer of the Unite the Country Super-PAC.
• Cheryl Owsley-Jackson, Emerson College journalist-in-residence, former Washington DC video news director for Northwestern University Medill School of Journalism
• Spencer Kimball, Political Communication assistant professor at Emerson, director of Emerson Polling
• Kathleen Kendall, research professor at University of Maryland, professor emerita at University of Albany, SUNY

Spencer Kimball started the discussion with the latest findings by Emerson Polling, which indicated that in Michigan, Joe Biden’s lead is slipping while Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren make gains. Another poll in Nevada revealed a nearly three-way tie among voter preference of health care policies, while Warren surpasses Sanders to a second-place lead behind Biden.

In addition to alumni from around the DC area, guests included a dozen Emerson students who are currently serving internships in the nation’s capital while earning college credit through the Washington Center, Emerson’s partner organization of many years.

As Raul Reis, dean of the Emerson School of Communication, notes in his opening remarks, “This event and this discussion perfectly match our mission and goals as a School of Communication, which include facilitating dialogue about important and timely issues in a thoughtful and meaningful way.”

Watch the full discussion here: