Contents: Politics, higher ed, motor sports, awful jokes, random inspiration. Professor & Chair of Political Science at Radford University. #mizzoumade
Radford, Virginia
Joined April 2009
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That sound you hear is the flutter of 5,000 bleary-eyed political scientists who didn’t/couldn’t sleep last night firing up their respective percolators after futilely giving up on trying to get some shut-eye over the last hour.
The other story that will take a while to suss out but should be huge: I think we had a record midterm turnout in 2026.
My polling place had about as many votes cast as in ‘24. Midterm turnout is usually ~ 20% lower than Presidential turnout. This may be a 2018-like spike
Tonight’s big takeaway: Republicans even lost seats they had gerrymandered this last year to make their position safer.
This was a repudiation, and it’s impossible to see it as anything else
And what drives all of this? The direct primary....
nytimes.com/2026/11/01/us/po…
Cuban-led third party 2028 bid incoming ....
He's a VERY smart man, but someone should tell him about Duverger's Law.
I’m against all of these.
The new force in politics and elections is independents.
The fact independents are NOT an organized party, means we can individually do what we think is right, without regard to party politics. That is a force we have not seen before. And it is only growing as we all become increasingly disgusted by party politics.
Pushing these would backfire on Democrats.
We can solve the Alaska Senate problem if we all decide to vote for 1985 Indy 500 winner Danny Sullivan
This is an excellent breakdown of the Louise Lucas case here in VA.
@DwayneYancey and @CardinalNewsVA do some great work, and this is a strong example of the kind of reporting that we need for a functioning democracy.
One of the state’s most powerful political figures faces charges as part of an alleged racketeering conspiracy that mostly deals with dealing marijuana. mrf.lu/2v7cH
An interesting exercise in the extent of federal/state division over cannabis sales. Without that, there's no basis for any of the indictments. But 6 more counts cascade from it. 2 storylines: 1) navigating Northam/Youngkin cannabis directives, 2) federal DoJ practice. Let's go
Here is the 45-page Louise Lucas indictment for a racketeering / money laundering conspiracy: storage.courtlistener.com/re…
I don't normally come here looking for clicks, but this is different. Please vote for me in this podcasting host competition: tophost.org/2026/chapman-rac…
I’ve discovered peak QSR, folks, and it’s in Boone NC. @ComeBackShack has reset the burger fries and shake bar.
Trust me.
Where I tell you I'm GenX without telling you I'm GenX.
My 9 albums #my9albums my9albums.com/s/dTQNsRYKsY
And I thought I had awesome bio parents. Imagine being the GOAT of 70's-80's rock's kid.
A Missouri man who spent decades wondering about his biological roots was recently reunited with his birth parents — and discovered his father is Michael McDonald.
STORY >>> kctv5.com/2026/09/30/adopted…
Saw fellow ticket holders with handfuls (8+) Rowdy memorial towels at @ItsBristolBaby last night, only to see today 1) they ran out despite promising one for every ticket holder, so many who left without and 2) people selling them on eBay for upwards of of $75.
Gross.
Looks like today is a music-themed reflection day. Being a St. Louis-area kid, Uncle Tupelo and Wilco were always on my radar. Seeing them play at the Blue Note in Columbia was always a joy. Summerteeth is still one of my favorite albums of all time.... BUT
Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot turns 25 today
See where it falls on our list of the 200 best albums of the 2000s: pitchfork.visitlink.me/Y7rjh…
Just about every song is perfect. Heavy Metal Drummer is even good on its own, it just disrupts the flow of an otherwise ethereal and otherworldly trip. Jeff Tweedy is my generation's Dylan, said without exaggeration. Muscially, I'll follow him through the mists of Avalon.