The campus will be at the heart of the political landscape Tuesday at 7 p.m. as a panel of six state party chairmen, national political reporters and analysts participate in a Symposium on Presidential Primaries, hosted by the College of Arts and Sciences in Capstone House.
The event, which is free and open to the public, will include The Washington Post’s national political correspondent Karen Tumulty, RealClearPolitics White House correspondent Alexis Simendinger, Winthrop University political science professor and Winthrop Poll Center director Scott Huffmon, USC political science professor Laura Woliver, SC Republican Party chairman Matt Moore and SC Democratic Party chairman Jaime Harrison.
College of Information and Communications Dean Charles Bierbauer, a former CNN Washington correspondent himself, will serve as moderator.
Long-time USC political science professor and former Democratic National Committee chairman Don Fowler, who organized the event, feels as if the variety of points of view is one of the most valuable aspects of the event.
“It’s a good mixture of people, and they will bring interesting perspectives,” Fowler said. “These perspectives will bring sophistication and insight.”
Fowler was inspired following the success of a similar event held on the South Carolina gubernatorial race.
“Last year we had our first symposium on the governor’s race and that went well,” Fowler said. “Now everyone is focused on the presidential election, on 2016, so we thought it would be worth something to do this.”
Fowler hopes the event will help students to better understand the political process as many presidential hopefuls continue to campaign in and around the campus.
“In a few months South Carolina will host one of the first three state primaries so we have a strategic and important role that attracts national attention,” Fowler said.
In recent weeks, many contenders from both major parties have visited the Columbia area, including Vermont Senator and Democratic hopeful Bernie Sanders and Republican candidates Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, Senators from Texas and Florida respectively. Kentucky Senator and Republican hopeful Rand Paul and businessman Donald Trump, who is currently leading in national Republican primary polls, will both speak in the area in the coming weeks.
“I don’t know if [the panel] will be able to pick the winner,” Fowler said, “but the combined perspectives will be helpful.”
On the whole, he thinks that the event will be of value to all who attend regardless of their background or knowledge of politics.
“This is not just a matter of politics or political science,” Fowler said. “It’s good for business in South Carolina, it’s good for the School of Journalism, it’s good for psychology students who study political behaviors and it’s good for public knowledge.”