Political Impact
President Trump Tests Positive for Coronavirus
Updated October 3, 2020
On Friday Oct. 2, 2020, President Trump tweeted that both himself and the First Lady tested positive for the Coronavirus and would begin treatment right away. Later that day, he was transferred to Walter Reed hospital where he is currently undergoing medical treatment. It is unclear as to what his current symptoms are. A day earlier, Hope Hicks, one of his closest aides also tested positive for the virus. It is also unclear what this new major development would have on the Nov. 3 presidential elections.
Learn more about this development HERE.
Updated October 14, 2020
The first lady revealed on Oct 14, that her son, Barron Trump, 14, also tested positive for the virus (Details)
Election Updates
Updated October 14, 2020
The vice presidential debate was held as per the original schedule on Oct. 7.
On Oct 12, President Trump was back on the campaign trail in Florida addressing a packed outdoor rally.
The second presidential debate was supposed to be held on Oct. 15 in Miami but the Debate Commission wanted to conduct it virtually due to safety of everyone involved as a result of the President’s diagnosis. The White House was not amenable to that and eventually the debate got cancelled. In lieu of the second presidential debate, each party is going to conduct a competing Town Hall meeting. The NBC town hall will take place outdoors in Miami on Oct 15, where Trump and Guthrie will sit 12 feet apart. Attendees will be required to wear masks. Biden, meanwhile, will participate in a town hall in Philadelphia on Oct 15, which will be hosted by George Stephanopoulos of ABC News. More details can be found here, here and here.
Updated October 21, 2020
The third presidential debate is going to be at Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn. on Oct 22, from 9:00 to 10:30 p.m. ET moderated by Kristen Welker of NBC News. Details
Updated November 8, 2020
Joe Biden became president-elect Saturday, 11/7/2020 after winning Pennsylvania. . Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris addressed the nation at 8 p.m. ET in Wilmington Delaware. Learn more HERE.
During the election week, COVID cases reached its highest level of > 125,000 cases per day since early November
Updated January 20, 2021
President Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States. In his inauguration speech, he mentioned “Today, we celebrate the triumph not of a candidate, but of a cause, the cause of democracy.” The election of 2020 was unlike any other in recent memory. A large number of ballots were cast by mail due to the ongoing pandemic. It also was the first time that a woman of African-American and Asian descent was the Vice-Presidential candidate. He promised to unite the country. He also promised to unite the nation. “On this January day, my whole soul is in this: Bringing America together, uniting our people, uniting our nation. And I ask every American to join me in this cause.”
Updated Jan 27, 2021
What about the Georgia Senate runoff?
On Tuesday, January 5, 2021, voters in Georgia headed to the polls once again to cast their ballots for two Senators. The incumbents in this election were Republicans Kelly Loeffler and David Purdue. Their respective challengers were Democrats Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff. Just like the presidential elections two months earlier, this election too was a nail-biter where the outcome was not known until almost a day later and could have gone either way. In the end, Warnock won 50.8% of the votes vs Loeffler’s 49.2%. Ossoff’s margin of victory was even narrower - he won 50.4% of the votes versus Purdue’s 49.6%
Learn more about it HERE
Historic Election Wins
Updated November 10, 2022
Maura Healey, attorney general of the state of Massachusetts since 2015, decisively won the race for governor on Tuesday November 8, 2022. Healey, a Democrat, got almost 64% of the votes while her primary Republican challenger Geoff Diehl got 35%. She is the first woman and the first openly gay candidate to be elected to the gubernatorial position in the state.
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Healey’s political career has been very impressive. She grew up in New Hampshire and is a graduate of both Harvard and Northeastern Law School. She was hired by the former Attorney General of the state, Martha Coakley, in 2007. She served as chief of the Civil Rights Division, where she spearheaded the state's challenge to the federal Defense of Marriage Act.
When Coakley resigned from Attorney General position to run for governor in the 2014 race, Healey decided to contest for her seat. She won with 62.5% of the votes and was reelected in 2018 with 69.9% of the votes.
The elections on Tuesday were significant in other respects as well. Andrea Campbell, who was Healey's choice to replace her as Attorney General, defeated Republican Jay McMahon by a wide margin. Campbell, who was the first Black woman to serve as president of the Boston City Council, is now the first woman of color to become Attorney General in Massachusetts.
The wins on Tuesday cap a series of changes in the political landscape for women in the state of Massachusetts. It began in 1986 when Evelyn Murphy became the Lieutenant Governor of the state running with Michael Dukakis. In 2001, then Lieutenant Governor Jane Swift became the acting governor when then Governor Paul Cellucci was appointed Ambassador to Canada. In 2012, Elizabeth Warren was the first woman senator elected from the state. This was followed by the election of Ayanna Pressley, the first woman of color from Massachusetts, to Congress in 2018. In 2021, Michelle Wu became the first Asian American woman to be elected mayor of Boston. Over the last 35+ years change has been a slow, but steady progression for the state. It will be interesting to see how Healey, and other leaders, continue to lead Massachusetts state politics into the future.
