The Hoya sat down with the six incoming Georgetown University Institute of Politics and Public Service (GU Politics) fellows for the Fall 2024 semester to discuss the upcoming presidential election, political polarization and issues facing young voters.
This semester’s fellows are Rodney Davis, a former U.S. Representative (R-Ill.); Ashley Gunn, a former cabinet official in former President Donald Trump’s administration; Alencia Johnson, a former senior adviser to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’ 2020 presidential campaign; Symone Sanders Townsend, a political commentator and former spokesperson for Harris; Waleed Shahid, a progressive Democratic strategist; and Rick Wiley, a Republican strategist and former senior adviser to Nikki Haley’s presidential campaign.
While at Georgetown, the six fellows will host weekly discussion groups beginning Sept. 23 where they will welcome students to discuss a variety of issues in American politics.
Below is a partial transcript of the fellows’ discussion of the upcoming election between Harris and Trump, the challenges facing each candidate and their advice to students.
What is the biggest issue of this election? What about issues particular to college students?
Sanders Townsend: Well, honestly, I think an issue that cuts across everyone is the economy. But when you say economy, it means different things to different subsets of people. So, affordability, when some folks are talking about the economy, that could be in housing, that could be renting — but that could also mean student debt relief, that could just literally mean the ability to have housing.
Johnson: One of the issues that I’ve spent a lot of time working on and have seen the numbers moving in is abortion and reproductive healthcare. It’s a huge issue for young people, and what I found is that young people are so smart and understand how all these issues intersect, and they look at reproductive healthcare as an economic issue and they look at climate change.
How do you think the war in Gaza and ongoing student activism will influence the election? Do you think the recent change in the Democratic nominee will have an influence on that?
Shahid: We have not seen this level of anti-war activism on college campuses since the Vietnam War, and I think it will, in the same way that those protests were historic and caused a lot of debate about the role of young people, these will also be remembered in the same light. I think the protest would be much larger if President Biden was still the nominee, I think, and much more intense. I think many young people are optimistic about Vice President Harris but are waiting to see what her policy vision would be on this.
Davis: If the activists and protesters right now are comparable to the Vietnam-era activists, be careful what you ask for, because you might have the same presidential election result. And as a Republican, I would encourage lots of protests.
With only two months remaining, what are the biggest challenges facing the Republican and Democratic candidates this election cycle?
Wiley: You had some independents, maybe even some soft Dems, who were giving Trump a second look because of Biden’s debate performance. And those folks now have a reason to not go to Trump and they’re coming back, they’re coming back to being a Democrat or being a true independent. That is the biggest issue right now.
Shahid: I think the margins in the swing states are going to be extremely close, and there will be more and more attention paid to Jill Stein and Cornel West and the Libertarian candidate whose name I don’t remember, dragging one, two, three percent of Michigan or Georgia, or any of these states.
How do you think we can ensure a peaceful transition of power and avoid political violence?
Wiley: There’s political violence everywhere, and it’s a huge problem. You’ve got agitators that show up, these protests that truck in out-of-staters. I mean, it’s just bad out there, and the temperature has to come down somehow, and frankly, it starts at the top. The leaders of the parties have to cool it, and it’s the only way it happens.
Davis: Political violence is not relegated to one party, and it didn’t start in 2020. We’ve got to call out what’s causing these violent activities.
Sanders Townsend: Who the leaders are matter, what they say matters, because I think their words have power. And we have seen examples, just throughout the last four years, about how people’s words have power and that the online conversations — the rhetoric, the things that people say online that they would never say to someone in person — those online conversations and that very heated and hot and oftentimes inhumane rhetoric has spilled over into everyday life; to the point where people are acting on the rhetoric.
What is one piece of advice that you wish you had that you would give to students in their college careers?
Johnson: If you’re going into politics and policy, it is very hard, very draining work, very stressful work, very much will take you away from things in your personal life. And so, you’ve got to figure out a way to have some sort of joy because also that joy brings about the ability to radically dream and imagine the future that you would want to build.
Shahid: Maintain your authenticity, maintain your relationships to people outside of this town, maintain what drives you as a person to change American politics rather than to just manage American politics. The answers are not going to be found in Washington, D.C. alone. They’re going to be found in the places you probably grew up in.
Gunn: I would say trust your instinct. Trust in your gut and you know, question things, don’t just accept.
Who do you think is going to win the 2024 election?
Gunn: We don’t know right now because 58, 59 days is an eternity. Talk about an October surprise, there’s going to be a November surprise with these two every week, which is why this is so exciting right now. Every week we’re going to have something pivotal to talk about.
Shahid: In the past 20 years, Republicans haven’t won the popular vote in a presidential election, they won’t win the popular vote in this election.
Sanders Townsend: When it comes to the top of the ticket, I do think it really does come down to the people. That is the beauty of our electoral system, is that the people do have the power, and if the people go out and vote, in key places and spaces across the country because of the Electoral College, and they can and they do so overwhelmingly, then there will be a clear winner. The people will decide.
What do you most look forward to when conducting your fellow discussions?
Johnson: I think after a while, you’re in the work for so long, you get so far removed from being bright-eyed and very optimistic and hopeful when you’re looking at politics, and so I’m really eager to hear more from the students, and I think that will push and challenge the way that I actually view campaigns in politics right now, too.
Wiley: You have a new generation of operatives that need to be trained and figure out what this political landscape looks like, so I’m looking forward to sharing some insights into what I’ve done in the past, and hopefully, it helps them choose the career path they might like.