A Rutgers Expert's Guide to Understanding 2020's Campaign Polls
Koning discusses the future of polling in this video
In a Rutgers Today article,  Ashley Koning, assistant research professor and director of the Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling, shared tips for voters on how to bring critical thinking to bear when reading poll results during this election cycle.

"Her guidelines for savvy poll consumers include:
  • Look for polls that fully disclose details about the polling entity's mission, methods and sponsors. If there is no disclosure, ignore the poll.
  • Find out what questions the pollsters asked. The ways questions are worded, ordered and framed can strongly affect the responses.
  • Pay attention to who and how many people were interviewed, the margin of error, and how the data were weighed. Any of these can impact the seemingly clear-cut percentages mentioned in news reports.
  • Understand that any one poll is just an estimate. Looking at a range of polls on a given topic gives a better sense of public sentiment.
  • Be vigilant about how you interpret pre-election polling. Polls are snapshots in time and exercises in probability. Embrace their uncertainty and acknowledge their range of error, rather than mistaking them as inevitable predictors of what will happen - especially in close races with thin margins."
Reconsidering American Political Thought
As the 2020 Presidential Primary Elections officially kick-off with the Iowa Caucuses during the first week of February, members of the Rutgers community will have the opportunity to learn more about important political trends, concepts, and theories outlined in Eagleton Professor Saladin Ambar's new  book, Reconsidering American Political Thought.  The book analyzes American values and intellectual traditions through the lens of race, gender, and ethnicity.

"The ability to look at one's country critically is one of the most important things any citizen can do; it just so happens that race and gender often cloud our vision, and make us susceptible to old myths.  But if we can bring those considerations into the mix -- honestly, and with reason -- we can tackle the things that need addressing in our country. I hope this book does its small part in that project," said Professor Ambar.

Wednesday, February 5, 2020
6PM book talk; reception to follow

Register: Spring 2020 Eagleton Science and Politics Workshop
Submit All Application Materials By February 7th at 5PM
The deadline for the Rutgers-Eagleton Washington Internship Award is less than 3 weeks away! Students need to submit all application materials by Friday, February 7th at 5PM.

Students who are applying to the program should take time during the first week of the semester to ask a professor to write a letter of recommendation.

All letters of recommendation should be addressed to the "Selection Committee, Rutgers-Eagleton Washington Internship Award Program" and emailed as a Word document or Adobe PDF directly from the recommender to  [email protected].

Register: CAWP Leadership and Campaign Trainings
Susan N. Wilson NEW Leadership® New Jersey
Eagleton's Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP) is accepting applications for the Susan N. Wilson NEW Leadership® New Jersey Program.  NEWL is a six-day residential summer institute that educates college women about public leadership, introduces them to successful women leaders, and provides them with the tools to become more involved in the political process. The program is open to college women attending higher education institutions in New Jersey.

NEWL New Jersey 2020 will take place June 11-16 in New Brunswick.

Ready to Run® New Jersey - Don't Miss the Early Bird Rate
CAWP is hosting its annual bipartisan Ready to Run® New Jersey campaign training for women on March 20-21, 2020 at Rutgers University-New Brunswick . 

Participants walk away with the tools, strategies, and resources they need to run for office, work on a campaign, get appointed to office, or become community leaders.

Interested in attending? Don't miss the early bird registration rate. The registration fee is $150 before February 11th and $195 after February 11th.

Governor Jon S. Corzine Archive - Chief of Staff Perspective
Tom Shea interview (Center on the American Governor) 7.12.2019

The Eagleton Center on the American Governor is continuing to build its Governor Jon S. Corzine Archive. One recent addition to the archive is an interview with  Tom Shea, Governor Corzine's first chief of staff.

"I would say that the biggest [accomplishment] that stands out for me is that [Governor Corzine] did for people what he said he was going to do. He tried to make things better, particularly for those who needed help the most. And he brought a different perspective to
solving problems in Trenton and he solved many of them that had been really tough
for others to solve before he got there,"  said Shea.
Other recent additions to the archive include images of  campaign memorabilia from Governor Corzine's campaigns for U.S. Senate (2000) and governor (2005 and 2009).  The materials are from the collection of Stephen R. Bumball.



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