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As GOP presidential candidates vie for support in Florida, immigration politics and the fight for the Latino vote have moved front-and-center, notes UMBC political science professor Thomas Schaller in Salon. He writes, “onstage at the University of North Florida, Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich…went after each other with obvious, mutual disdain on immigration, the subject of the opening question and nearly the full first half-hour of the debate.” Schaller suggests that the challenge for GOP candidates is to “appease xenophobes within their base during the primaries” without alienating the Latino voters they will need to remain competitive in swing states… Continue Reading Thomas Schaller, Political Science, in Salon

UMBC political science professor Thomas Schaller continues his commentary on the presidential election today with new columns in Salon and the Baltimore Sun. In “Obama takes his case to the swing states,” Schaller explores the implications of the president’s post-State of the Union speaking tour. Schaller writes, “For the past three months, political eyes have been focused squarely on the Republican White House contenders. But after his State of the Union speech, the commander-in-chief shifts himself into campaigner-in-chief mode, whether or not the GOP has settled on a candidate yet.” Schaller’s latest Baltimore Sun column explores the GOP field, arguing… Continue Reading Thomas Schaller, Political Science, in Salon and the Baltimore Sun

UMBC political science professor and national political commentator Thomas Schaller appeared on CurrentTV’s “Young Turks” show last night, weighing in on the question “Should liberals root for Mitt Romney or Newt Gingrich?” Schaller suggested, “Newt will get the base fired up, but… a vote cast with intensity counts the same as a vote cast reluctantly. It doesn’t matter how juiced up the conservative id is. The votes in the middle are going to matter.”Schaller also weighed in on the GOP candidates’ abilities to collect delegates, in The Daily Beast‘s primary coverage. Whereas neither Gingrich nor Santorum will appear on the… Continue Reading Thomas Schaller, Political Science, on Current TV and The Daily Beast

“This year, Barack Obama may become America’s first billion-dollar candidate. […] Can he do it and, more to the point, will he even need all that much cash?” This is the question UMBC political science professor Thomas Schaller asks in his latest Salon article “The Obillionaire candidate.”Schaller compares in detail the Obama campaign’s fundraising in 2007-08 versus 2011 and finds that the evidence he’ll hit new record is mixed. Further, Schaller writes, “the $1 billion goal creates something of a dilemma for Obama’s reelection campaign” at a time when the public is increasingly concerned with income inequality and campaign financing… Continue Reading Thomas Schaller, Political Science, in Salon

In response to Mitt Romney’s first Spanish-language ad, released this week, Salon has published “GOP’s Latino problem gets worse,” a new commentary by UMBC political science professor Thomas Schaller.Schaller argues that although Romney’s commercial is a positive step, the GOP still has a long way to go in appealing to Latino and other minority voters. What is the biggest issue? “Although other issues have contributed to the GOP’s struggles with Latino voters, the party’s strident opposition to immigration reform has poisoned the electoral well,” Schaller says.

UMBC political science professor Thomas Schaller has published a new commentary in the Baltimore Sun exploring presidential candidate Rick Santorum’s positions on the hot-button issues of abortion rights and the individual mandate for health insurance. In “Rick Santorum’s moral flexibility,” Schaller suggests that the politician has changed his positions on these issues over time not due to personal reflection, but “in the interest of party cohesion.”