24-0214
Gavin Jackson, Host and Public Affairs Reporter, South Carolina Educational Television (SCETV)
Kirk Randazzo, Professor and Department Chair, Political Science, University of South Carolina
Sarah Wagner, M.A., Atlantic Academy
Dickson Monk, Columbia World Affairs Council
Wednesday, February 14, 6 pm
online via Zoom
You can register for the event here.
Columbia World Affairs Council
This event is part of the election series "Road to Election and Beyond"
With its “First in the South” primary, South Carolina has ended and revived numerous political careers and cemented its status as a legendary political battlefield. In 2020, winning the state proved a turning point for Joe Biden’s campaign and the Democrats have not forgotten, having now established South Carolina as the first contest for their primary calendar. On the Republican side, Donald Trump swept the 2016 primary and is now looking to repeat his win in 2024 and forcing former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley out of the race in her home state. South Carolina Senator Tim Scott has already left the contest for the presidential nomination and has endorsed Donald Trump, along with many notable political figures of the state. In this event, we will analyze the unique political culture of South Carolina politics and discuss with two experts what the “Palmetto State” can tell us about the race to the White House and the way the Democrats and Republicans operate in the South.
Running from January 2024 to January 2025, the "Road to Election" digital event series will host in-depth discussions and foster a vibrant exchange of ideas in the lead-up to the pivotal 2024 U.S. election. As a collaboration of over 25 transatlantic organizations and political foundations, this series aims to inform, to engage in dynamic dialogues, and to champion democratic values by presenting diverse perspectives. The initiative’s events will feature prominent researchers, policy makers, commentators, and civil society representatives, exploring diverse formats and a wide array of topics. From public polling and media impact to electoral demographics, the future of U.S. democracy, and pressing policy issues like trade and immigration, the "Road to Election" series aims to offer comprehensive insights for audiences in both the United States and Germany.
graduated with a visual journalism degree from Kent State University in 2008 and has been in the news industry ever since. He has worked at newspapers in Ohio, Louisiana and most recently in South Carolina at the Florence Morning News and Charleston Post and Courier.
Gavin's career as a multi-faceted journalist began in 2011 at the Morning News where he wrote, shot photos and video for daily stories in print, online and broadcast. His local political coverage got him hired onto The Post and Courier’s Statehouse bureau team in fall 2015. He covered the presidential primaries, Gov. Nikki Haley, the legislature and more. South Carolina ETV hired him in 2017 as their only news and public affairs reporter in an effort to grow SCETV’s news presence.
Gavin hosts SCETV’s weekly public affairs show This Week in South Carolina and the weekly South Carolina Lede podcast. [Text: SCETV)
is a Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of South Carolina. Professor Randazzo’s research and teaching interests span the fields of American Politics, Comparative Politics, and Methodology – with a particular focus on law and judicial politics. His work focuses on legal constraints to judicial decision making, strategic behavior among judges, and aspects of judicial independence within fledgling democracies. Additionally, his book Defenders of Liberty or Champions of Security? Federal Courts, the Hierarchy of Justice, and U.S. Foreign Policy (from SUNY Press) examines how federal judges balance competing preferences over liberty and security when adjudicating foreign policy cases. He has also published articles in journals such as the Journal of Politics, American Politics Research, the Justice System Journal, Experimental Economics, and in various law reviews.
Professor Randazzo is also the Director of the Judicial Research Initiative (JuRI) at USC (www.cas.sc.edu/poli/juri). He earned his Ph.D. from Michigan State University in 2003. Prior to his current appointment at USC, he was a faculty member at the University of Kentucky. [Text: University of South Carolina]