CSED In the News
The Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy regularly provides analysis and commentary for local and national news stories. Please click on any of the following stories to read more.
January 22, 2012
"Quin Monson, a political science professor at Brigham Young University, said most attacks on the Mormon religion during the GOP primary season have come from the conservative right. In particular, evangelicals in the South have questioned the beliefs of the LDS church. But during the general election, Monson said, the church is likely to get the most heat from the political left as Democrats attack the church's past discrimination against blacks, its position against abortion and gay marriage, and the more traditional roles often assigned to women. 'Race gets brought up not to win more African-Americans -- who aren't going to vote any more Democratic than they already do -- but as a signal to other voters who don't want a Republican who's racist,' Monson said. 'Race targets white suburban women, moderate Republicans and independents'..."
January 16, 2012
CSED Associate Director Quin Monson joins a panel to discuss the intersection religion in politics.
"Quin Monson, associate professor of political science at Brigham Young University, said Reid's numbers might prompt a query as to why Mormons 'don't cut him a little slack.' Reid has not made religion a big part of his political identity. He has not needed to in order to succeed politically in Nevada, Monson said. So, many church members don't view him as much as a Mormon as an out-front advocate for somewhat unpopular Democratic policies. 'I have seen Senator Reid speak about his religion. His Mormon identity is a central part of who he is, but it is not something that comes up for him very often as majority leader,' Monson said'..."
January 15, 2012
"'Usually a delegate has much more deeply held beliefs about the political system than their neighbors,' said Kelly Patterson, director of Brigham Young University's Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy. 'They usually have an ideologically stronger opinion about policy and politics.' Patterson said that some delegates take their role as the representative of the neighborhood seriously as they work to make sure they know who and what their neighbors support, and then take those views to the party's convention'...'You're not necessarily getting a faithful slice of what either party really looks like,' Patterson observed. 'They have much more strongly held opinions about what they want to see accomplished.'"
January 11, 2012
"'His name is going to come up next time, undoubtedly,' said Quin Monson, a political science professor at Brigham Young University. 'I think the key for Huntsman is to go out with dignity, and that might mean competing a couple more times … to not say or do anything at this point that alienates the people that are left'...'There simply wasn’t room in the Republican field for another Mitt Romney — a rich, moderate, establishment Mormon with gray temples and ties to Democrats'..."
January 9, 2012
"Quin Monson, a political science professor at Brigham Young University, agrees that Huntsman needs to prove his efforts in New Hampshire have paid off. 'I think he needs to get third, at minimum,' Monson says. 'If he gets second, that’s a home run'..."
January 7, 2012
"'Chaffetz showed that it can be done,' said Kelly Patterson, director of the Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy at Brigham Young University. 'In Utah, districts aren’t all that different from each other. So you can tell people you essentially are like them, even if you don’t quite live with them. In other states, the differences between districts are bigger — so that isn’t as easy to do.' Patterson warns that running outside one’s district generally gives up 'the friends and neighbors effect, where candidates tend to do best in their own neighborhoods among their friends, and do worse the farther away they get.' Chaffetz could pull it off, Patterson said, because he is 'a particularly skilled and eloquent politician.' Even so, he pressed for a boundary change in the recent redistricting that would allow him to run in a redrawn 3rd Congressional District that now includes his home."
January 6, 2012
"Quin Monson, associate director of the Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy at Brigham Young University, said that Herbert doesn’t seem to have the same obstacles to his re-election as Hatch. 'There’s just not the same amount of material,' Monson said. The anger over the open records law seems to have subsided and immigration alone might force Herbert to a primary, Monson said, 'but whoever forces him into a primary is going to have to come up with something else.' 'On the other hand, I think Kirkham has instant credibility with the tea party crowd,' he said. 'In the end, this caucus night is enormously important in terms of who shows up and how the delegate selection goes.'"
"'That's going to hamstring him,' said BYU political science professor Quin Monson. 'I don't know if the night is enough for him to catch up.'"
January 4, 2012
"BYU political science professor Quin Monson sees Liljenquist as a credible challenger to Hatch but one with lots of unknowns. 'I think he's a very substantive candidate in terms of his experience with issues, but that's a little different than being in a very competitive election campaign,' he said, noting Liljenquist has never sought statewide office. 'It's unknown how ready he is for the rigors of a caucus and convention battle.' Monson said it will be intriguing to see whether Liljenquist can exploit Hatch's weaknesses, which he sees as the senator's age, longevity and loss of favor with the same people who ousted Bennett."
