Less than 48 hours after the polls closed in the 2024 presidential election, a panel of political experts from across Grounds shared their insights and thoughts at an event this morning at Garrett Hall attended by more 75 people, plus several hundred more watching a live stream.  

UVA Batten co-hosted the post-election analysis with the Karsh Institute of Democracy and the Miller Center of Public Affairs. The panelists included Melody Barnes, executive director of the Karsh Institute, Mary Kate Cary with the Department of Politics, Ashley Jardina, associate professor at Batten, and William Antholis, director of the Miller Center, who joined remotely. The discussion was moderated by Batten Dean Ian H. Solomon and was covered by CSPAN and several media outlets. 

Introducing the panel were two UVA students: Blake Boudreaux, president of the UVA College Republicans, and Ella Nelsen, president of University Democrats at UVA. 

“This election and campaign season were anything but normal,” Solomon noted in opening the discussion, adding that as of this morning, the transition of power had transpired “smoothly with minimal disruptions around the country,” with Vice President Kamala Harris having conceded the race President-elect Donald Trump.

The panelists touched on a range of topics including: the demographics of who did, and who didn’t, turn out to vote; how voters have widely different views on what constitutes a threat to democracy; and what the outcome of the election, including the congressional races, might foretell about unifying a deeply divided country. 

Watch the full recording of the event >