Mimi Walters, former Congresswoman (R-CA) and Fall 2020 Fellow at the USC Dornsife Center for the Political Future, joins co-directors Bob Shrum and Mike Murphy to share some thoughts on the 2020 election and her decades-long career in public office. From investment executive to elected official, Walters most recently served as U.S. Representative for District 45 in Orange County, until 2018. She also served in both the California State Senate and Assembly and got her start in politics as a city Councilmember and Mayor of Laguna Niguel. In Congress, Walters sponsored legislation for wildfire disaster tax relief and the Survivor’s Bill of Rights that established key protections for survivors of sexual assault. She served on the influential House Energy and Commerce Committee where she was a member of the Communications and Technology, Digital Commerce and Consumer Protection, and Oversight and Investigations subcommittees. She is the co-founder of the California Women’s Leadership Association, sits on several boards, and will be teaching a course in the Fall titled “So You Want to Run For Office?” with the USC Center for the Political Future.

Election R&D - 2020 and Beyond

Election R&D Dialogues: Special Guest Mimi Walters

As the pandemic has unfolded, social media has once again demonstrated how it can inform – or mislead – by encouraging the spread of literally deadly information. Center Co-Directors Bob Shrum and Mike Murphy moderate a discussion on the implications of misinformation from political, social and engineering perspectives – and how it could alter the course of social media. In partnership with the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences' Dornsife Dialogues series. The panelists include: Kristina Lerman, Research associate professor of computer science and principal scientist at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering Information Sciences Institute Jon-Patrick Allem, Assistant professor of research preventive medicine and director of the Social Media Analytics Lab at Keck School of Medicine of USC. 

Social Media and the Post-COVID-19 Landscape

Still reeling from a global pandemic, protests across America erupted in cities across all 50 states, sparking a worldwide movement in over 20 countries. Violence against black men and women, like George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and many others, perpetrated by police has plagued this country for decades. The demand for systemic change for how cities are policed and how racism penetrates so much of American life has become a national, multicultural discussion. This panel explores how we got here and what actions are needed to move forward. The panelists include: Art Acevedo - Chief of Police, Houston Police Department; President, Major Cities Chiefs Association Donna Brazile - Former Chair, Democratic National Committee (DNC); FOX News Contributor Sydney Kamlager-Dove - California State Assembly member, District 54 (D-Los Angeles) Bob Shrum - Director, Center for the Political Future; Warschaw Chair in Practical Politics, USC Dornsife Erroll Southers - Professor of the Practice in National & Homeland Security; Director, Safe Communities Institute; Director of Homegrown Violent Extremist Studies, USC Price Moderated by: Ron Christie, BBC News Analyst; Fall ‘19 Fellow, USC Dornsife Center for the Political Future.

The George Floyd Tragedy: Is There a Path To Positive Change?

Barbara Boxer, former U.S. Senator (D-CA) and Fall 2020 Fellow at the USC Dornsife Center for the Political Future, joins co-directors Bob Shrum and Mike Murphy to reflect on her career and look ahead to the November election. Boxer was elected to the United States Senate in 1992 during the “Year of the Woman." She served four terms and retired in 2017, having also served five terms as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives and six years on the Marin County Board of Supervisors. Known as a “liberal firebrand,” Boxer has advocated for families and the environment for decades. She has consistently addressed the threat of climate change and attacks on women’s health and the right to privacy. She also authored landmark legislation for federally funded after-school programs. Boxer is chairwoman for a global strategy firm, runs a political action committee, and in the Fall, she will be teaching a course called "Demystifying Governance and Politics" at the USC Dornsife Center for the Political Future.

Special Guest Barbara Boxer

Co-Directors of the USC Dornsife Center for the Political Future discuss the impact of COVID-19 on the presidential election. Bob Shrum, the former senior strategist for Al Gore, John Kerry, and a host of Democratic senators and governors, and Mike Murphy, the former senior strategist for John McCain and Mitt Romney and a political analyst for NBC News, discuss the latest on changing voter attitudes toward the Trump administration, voting while sheltering in place and the dilemmas and opportunities of the Biden and Sanders campaigns. https://dornsife-center-for-political-future.usc.edu/

The Pandemic Election

Center Director Bob Shrum moderates a discussion exploring how the primary campaigns and developments in Washington are shaping the general election landscape. The panelists include: Rob Collins - Republican strategist; Former Executive Director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee Christian Grose - Associate Professor of Political Science and Public Policy, USC Dornsife; Academic Director, USC Schwarzenegger Institute for State and Global Policy Betsy Fischer Martin - Emmy-winning journalist; Former TV news executive; Executive Director, Women and Politics Institute, American University Mike Murphy - Co-Director, Center for the Political Future; political analyst for NBC News; former Senior Strategist for John McCain

On to November: What Matters and Why?

Fifteen states, including California for the first time, cast their votes for the 2020 primaries on Super Tuesday, March 3. A round table of experts weighed in on the results in real-time and offered predictions on what to look for next. The panelists include: Christina Bellantoni - Director, USC Annenberg Media Center Bill Carrick - Strategist for Sen. Dianne Feinstein, LA Mayor Eric Garcetti, Sen. Ted Kennedy, and President Bill Clinton Jeff Greenfield - Politics and Media Analyst; Spring '20 CPF Fellow David Hill - Pollster and Strategist; Spring '20 CPF Fellow Bob Shrum - Director, Center for the Political Future Ernest Wilson - Professor of Communication and Political Science; Former USC Annenberg Dean; Founder, Center for Third Space Thinking

Super Tuesday: What Happened and What's Next?

Center Co-Director Mike Murphy is joined by U.S. Representative Will Hurd, R-Texas. He is the only black Republican in the U.S. House, representing Texas' 23rd district that spans San Antonio to El Paso. In his three terms, he has broken from his party by supporting universal background checks for gun sales and the LGBT Equality Act, as well as opposing Trump's border wall. Rep. Hurd served as an undercover officer in the CIA in the Middle East and South Asia for nearly a decade. He shares his insights on the country's pressing national security issues, public service, and the future of the Republican party.

Congressman Will Hurd on National Security and the GOP of the Future

Center for the Political Future Executive Director Kamy Akhavan moderates a panel on the roots and rise of tribalism on American life, past and present, its impact on the state of politics and governance in America, and the role of political leaders in worsening the trend or reversing it. The panelists include: Ron Christie - Former Special Assistant to President George W. Bush and Vice President Cheney Stevan Hobfoll - Author, “Tribalism: The Evolutionary Origins of Fear Politics” Jonas Kaplan - USC Dornsife Assistant Research Professor of Psychology; Co-Director, Dornsife Neuroimaging Center Alison Renteln - USC Dornsife Professor of Political Science, Anthropology, Philosophy, Public Policy and Law

The Roots & Impact of Tribalism

Center Director Bob Shrum is joined by John Della Volpe, Director of Polling at the Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics to discuss the impact of millennial voters on the 2020 election. In partnership with the Annenberg Center on Communication Leadership and Policy.

Pollster John Della Volpe on Millennial Voters in 2020

Center Director Bob Shrum is joined by former White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci. After the release of his book, "Trump: The Blue Collar President," he has again made headlines withdrawing his support of President Trump. Scaramucci shares where he stands now on Trump's re-election, the Democratic field, and the state of the Republican party.

Anthony Scaramucci on Trump, Democratic Candidates, and the GOP

At the USC Dornsife Center for the Political Future, veteran strategists Bob Shrum and Mike Murphy regularly talk with top operatives on both sides of the 2020 contest and the journalists who are covering it. The conversations get behind the curtain -- because what seems to be happening in the campaign is often different than what really is. What are the calculations in the war rooms of 2020? How is the media covering the race, and how is the coverage shaping the outcome? Hear from those who’ve known success and setbacks in presidential races. And laugh, too, at their stories of the inside maneuvers and blunders that shape the outcome. Every exchange is guided by standards central to the Center’s mission: Respect each other and respect the truth. Opponents are adversaries, not enemies. And if you lose, don’t burn down the stadium. Election R&D will be there from the primary debates to election day, and then to a post-election, in depth analysis of the driving forces that led to victory and defeat.

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Election R&D - 2020 and Beyond

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