Elon faculty member, students featured in FOX News report on U.S. Senate race

A FOX News report on the race between Sen. Thom Tillis and challenger Cal Cunningham for a crucial U.S. Senate seat in North Carolina featured insight from Elon faculty and students.

The report, “Tillis and Cunningham spar in first NC senate debate,” by correspondent Jonathan Serrie aired on the Sept. 15 edition of Bret Baier’s “Special Report.” Serrie interviewed Associate Professor of Political Science and Policy Studies Jason Husser, as well as Alexis Malaguti ’22, president of Elon’s College Democrats organization, and Daniel Dorociak ’22, president of the university’s College Republicans organization.

The report touched on the first of three televised debates between Tillis and Cunningham, as well as campaign spending and the potential role of young voters in the race. When diving into potential outcomes in North Carolina, which elected Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper and Republican President Donald Trump in 2016, Husser discussed what it would take for Cunningham to defeat Tillis.

“It has to be a good year for Democrats to end up winning North Carolina, but we’ve seen a lot of generational change in voters,” said Husser, who also serves as director of the Elon University Poll.

As Serrie looked into efforts by both parties to energize young voters, he asked Malaguti about the race’s tendency to garner support from suburban swing voters. “I don’t think it plays to younger voters. I think part of the strategies with both Cunningham and Biden is that they are more centrist,” Malaguti said.

For Dorociak, the outcome of North Carolina’s U.S. Senate race could come down to overall support of the president.

“I believe that President Trump’s influence on this race and how much people like President Trump is really going to determine whether or not people come out to vote for Thom Tillis,” he said.

Watch the entire FOX News report here.