Obama expert media group
In the United States, all 435 seats in the House of Representatives, a third of the 100 Senate seats and some state governorships are up for grabs in the Midterm elections, held two years after the election of each President.
This year's midterm elections are to be held 2 November this year, following primaries to select the candidates on offer.
The Democrats have a working majority in both houses: they currently control 59 seats in the Senate, including two seats held by independents and enjoy a majority of some 40 seats in the House of Representatives.
So the Democrats have a lot at stake and as the popularity of the Obama administration remains low in the polls, lost seats will impede its ability to govern.
The University of Manchester is currently the centre of an international network of researchers, journalists and diplomats have joined forces to study the impact of the Barack Obama – America's first African American President.
Funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, it is the probably only project of its kind outside the United States, and brings together experts from Britain, Europe and America.
So our experts are well placed to help journalists explain the twists and turns of the campaign and interpret the results as they happen.
For more details, contact:
Mike Addelman
Media Relations
Faculty of Humanities
The University of Manchester
0161 275 0790
07717 881567
michael.addelman@manchester.ac.uk
The experts are:
Dr Rob Ford: US election analysis
Rob has made regular contributions to newspapers and television programmes on election analysis. An expert on elections in the US and UK, he has published widely and worked for employed by the BBC as a consultant psephologist on the 2005 General Election, the 2006 local elections and the 2007 Scotland, Wales and Local elections.
Dr Mark Ledwidge: The Presidency of Barack Obama
Mark's work on the relationship and impact of African-Americans on US foreign policy is an under-researched area of study and much of his work is groundbreaking. He has contributed numerous papers to conferences in the UK and around the world.
He co-edited "Race, African-Americans and US Foreign Policy" in the New Directions series published by Routledge in 2009 and is on the Organising Committee of an AHRC-funded Research Network on the presidency of Barack Obama, the first African-American president of the United States.
Professor Inderjeet Parmar: The Presidency of Barack Obama
Inderjeet is principal investigator of the AHRC-funded Research Network on the presidency of Barack Obama which, up to the end of 2012 (after the next presidential elections) is holding 6 conferences on every aspect of American power – economic, political, military, cultural, all in the context of the rise of other states and forces in world politics. His relevant research interests include the character of post-9-11 US foreign and national security policies, anti-Americanism, race and US foreign policy, the ideological and social characteristics of the US foreign policy establishment, and developments in Anglo-American relations. He has recently published studies of soft power in US foreign policy, and continuity and change in foreign policy from Bush to Obama.
Dr Eithne Quinn: race and modern culture in the United States
Eithne is an expert on race and modern culture in the United States. She can speak on, US race politics, hip-hop, and the US cultural industries. She is the programme director for the MA in American Studies, and is currently researching race politics in the Hollywood film industry in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Dr Andrew Russell: election analysis and general commentary
Andrew is a seasoned political pundit, making regular contributions to newspapers and television programmes. A senior lecturer in politics, he has published widely on political parties in general, elections, campaigning and electoral engagement.
Dr Ian Scott: US politics and culture
A Senior Lecturer in American Studies, Ian researches political movies and the cult of media-celebrity in politics, as well as wider media coverage of politics in the US. – He is about to publish a new edition of his new book American Politics in Hollywood Film. He has further expertise on Californian politics.
Dr Angie Wilson: the American religious right and the Tea Party
Angie, Senior Lecturer in Politics, is an expert on the American religious right and social conservativism. Her current research project, 'The Politics of Hate', includes original empirical research such as interviews with Tea Party members and participant observation in over a dozen 'grassroots' gatherings such as the Values Voters Washington Briefing, the National Religious Broadcasters Convention, Exodus International and the Conservative Political Action Committee. Her analysis of the US Christian Right has been featured in: the Guardian's Comment is Free, BBC Radio 3 Night Waves, her book Below the Belt: Sexuality, Religion and the American South, academic journals and a recent speaking event at the Library of Congress.