Insights in Demand
Ohio Wesleyan’s Jenny Holland Shares Political Perceptions with National Media
What do The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and MSNBC all have in common?
All are closely watching swing-state Ohio in the Hillary Clinton-Donald Trump race for the White House. And all have interviewed Ohio Wesleyan University’s Jenny Holland, Ph.D., to hear the assistant politics and government professor’s take on the Nov. 8 presidential election.
Holland’s most recent interview was Sept. 17, when she was on-air live with MSNBC anchor and NBC News foreign correspondent Ayman Mohyeldin.
During the discussion, Holland shared thoughts with Mohyeldin on the potential impact of any decision by Ohio Gov. John Kasich not to support fellow Republican Trump, shifting poll results, and independent voters.
“Any divide or split between him (Kasich) and the Trump campaign could potentially have an effect,” Holland said, later adding: “The key here is going to be turnout among both the Democratic and Republican sides. So whichever candidate has the most sophisticated ground game and is able to turn out those independent voters is likely to have the edge this year.”
On Sept. 9, Holland shared her insights with The New York Times in Binyamin Appelbaum’s article, “Reliably red Ohio county finds both Trump and Clinton hard to stomach.”
For the article, Holland told Appelbaum: “What do you do if the Republican candidate is unpalatable to you? Do you just show up and not vote for president at all? Or — gasp — could there be a possibility that a Republican woman would show up and vote for Hillary Clinton? We just don’t know.”
In July, Holland discussed the presidential election in a Wall Street Journal article by writers Dante Chinni and Bob Davis, “Donald Trump Faces Challenge Surpassing Mitt Romney in Ohio,” noting that the Buckeye state is “not one size fits all” when it comes to earning voter support.
Holland joined the Ohio Wesleyan Department of Politics and Government in 2013. Her teaching and research interests include American public opinion, voting and elections, and political communication. She also teaches in the areas of political parties, public administration, public policy, and research methods.