Tech Professor Said Presidential Election Unpredictable

The global pandemic and unstable economy makes this year’s presidential election almost impossible to predict.

Tennessee Tech’s political science and sociology department chair Lori Maxwell said both parties are focusing on televised campaign ads since people are staying at home. She believes candidates in 2020 must approach campaigning in a more sensitive way than ever before.

“If there were to be large rallies by either party, I think that would make a lot of people very uncomfortable at a time when people are out of work,” Maxwell said. “Small businesses have really lost their lively hoods. People have lost their homes. I think it seems to be a superfluous endeavor.”

Maxwell said the deciding factor of this year’s election will probably be the economy. Historically, presidents who run for reelection with a weak economy usually do not win. If the curve of coronavirus begins to flatten and the economy starts to improve before November, President Trump’s odds of reelection could improve.

“I think the global pandemic and economy go hand and glove,” Maxwell said. “I think that we are watching right now the terrible impact both the illness and also the ravages on our economy. We are going to have to watch the impact on the campaign 2020 since we can not predict what is going to happen with the economy.”

Democratic candidate Joe Biden started a new trend of campaigning without campaigning while following stay at home orders for Vermont. Maxwell said instead of shaking hands and meeting citizens, Biden remains in his basement and continues to close the gap against President Trump.