Election Experts Midterm Forecast

Midterm Election Tuesday: is almost here. With hundreds of thousands of Oregonians already mailing in their ballots, how they vote in this election is NOT just about Oregon, according to David Bernell. He's an expert on election issues, and an Associate Professor of Political Science at Oregon State University. He also studies energy policy, and talks about another issue that's top of mind for voters in surveys: energy prices. In some parts of the country, early and mail in voting are breaking records. but not in Oregon, at least so far, the ballot return rate has been slower than the last midterm election in 2018, so I asked OSU Political Science Professor Chris Stout why that might be happening. He also answered questions about the impact of advertising and how much messaging, is too much. Oregon also stands out in the significant role of women, with three women running for Governor and several strong contenders for congressional seats. Susan Shaw is a Professor in OSU's Women, Gender and Sexuality studies program, taking a close look right now on gender related election issues. Next, taking a look at this election's trends and why there are so many differences in how elections are conducted from state to state, I talked to Dr. Chris Nichols, who served as a History Professor at OSU for ten years, before recently joining The Ohio State University. He is also a scholar and author/editor of several books about American politics and history.