On Thursday 5th March Liepaja University hosted Dr. Thomas F. Schaller, Professor of political science at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. The guest met with Rector Dace Markus and representatives of the International Relations department. Professor was giving a lecture to students on how the presidential elections in the United States were held in 2016 and gave some insights about the new elections. The absolute majority of the previous elections was on by Democratic Party candidate Hillary Clinton, though because of the U.S. two-tier electoral system, Republican Party candidate Donald Trump won a majority of individual state voters and was elected as 45th US president. Trump's victory was crucial to the vote for him in so-called “swing states” in Florida, Ohio and North Carolina. In addition, he also gained more support in Pennsylvania and Iowa, where most voters favored the Republican nominee in 2004.
At his home university T.F. Schaller teaches courses in American government, including the American Presidency, Presidential Elections, Interest Groups & Lobbying, and Campaigns & Elections. He is the author of The Stronghold: How Republicans Captured Congress but Surrendered the White House, Whistling Past Dixie: How Democrats Can Win Without the South, and co-author of Devolution and Black State Legislators: Challenges and Choices in the Twenty-First Century. He has published commentaries in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe, The New York Daily News, The American Prospect, Politico, Salon and The New Republic, and has appeared on ABC News, The Colbert Report, MSNBC’s “All In with Chris Hayes,” “Morning Joe” and “Up with Steve Kornacki” programs, National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered” and “Talk of the Nation,” PBS’ The Tavis Smiley Show, and C-SPAN’s Washington Journal. Since 2004, Schaller, 53, has given lectures on American politics and elections in 19 countries on behalf of the U.S. State Department.
Thank you Embassy of the USA in Latvia for this opportunity!
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