This weekend, News 3’s political analysts weighed in on the news of President-elect Joe Biden’s projected win in the race for the White House.
“It's a challenging election to look at. It's an important election,” Dr. Jesse Richman, Associate Professor of Political Science and International Studies at Old Dominion University said.
“This [election] is a case study that you can create courses off of to study,” Dr. Eric Claville, Director of the Center for African American Public Policy at Norfolk State University said.
Both shared their reactions to Biden’s projected win Saturday.
“My first reaction was relief,” Claville said. “It was also that of confidence knowing that our democracy works and it stands the test of the time.” “It's good to have, more or less, a final decision,” Richman said.
The two said the 2020 election is historic for voter turnout on both sides.
“It was very impressive,” Richman said. “It reflects both sides really working to turn voters out, and that's a good thing on the whole.”
They added it was also historic with the election of the first woman and person of color to the vice presidency, Kamala Harris.
“It's time for America to realize that the way for America to be great, and greater than it is, is not to exclude people, but to include people,” Claville said.
President Donald Trump plans on contesting the result, saying his campaign will start prosecuting their case in court Monday.
Trump also added in part in a statement, adding in part in a statement, “This election is far from over."
Richman told News 3 he expects a somewhat tense transition.
“This is likely to be rockier,” Richman said. “We have the continuing effort by the Trump campaign to contest what appears to be an almost certain loss at this point.”
On Election Day, Claville predicted Trump would win re-election this year. Both weighed in on polling this election cycle.
“In polling, we have to look at the pollsters and find out where are they missing the mark,” Claville said. “I think they're missing the mark because they're not asking the right questions as it relates to what drives voters to the polls to vote for the candidate of their choice.”
“I think the polling issues were very interesting here,” Richman added. “It could be an issue with people not wanting to say who they supported. It could also be an issue of people simply not responding to polls.”
Both also mentioned tackling the COVID-19 pandemic and the economy will be vital in Biden's transition and first days in office.
Claville said Biden's past experience in the White House will be helpful.
“During Vice President Biden’s term with President Obama dealt with the SARS epidemic and Ebola, and also dealt with the recovery of our economy after the Bush administration,” he said. “That experience, that guidance, that patience, the ability to negotiate across the aisle, that's something that Joe Biden has done, and has proven he can do over and over again.”
Former Virginia Governor and Biden surrogate Terry McAuliffe foresees a peaceful transition.
“It's a great day for America,” McAuliffe said.
He told News 3 Biden's cabinet picks will be important, and unity will be key.
“We need to be unified, because as I say, the challenges are so great in this nation. We can't do it divided,” he said. “Let's stop the partisan gridlock, and let's just get things done for the American people.”