Thursday, Sep 30, 2010
A debate between congressional candidates Rush Holt and Scott Sipprelle in October will launch another year of spirited and informative discourse in a series of events sponsored by the Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics of Rider University. This year, as always, the road to Trenton leads through Rider.
by Sean Ramsden
A debate between congressional candidates Rush Holt and Scott Sipprelle in October will launch another year of spirited and informative discourse in a series of events sponsored by The Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics of Rider University. This year, as always, the road to Trenton leads through Rider.
Rep. Rush Holt, the Democratic incumbent from New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District, is seeking reelection to the House of Representatives. To get there, he will have to defeat Republican challenger Scott Sipprelle in what is shaping up to be one of the more competitive races in the state this electoral season. The two will square off in a timed debate, sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Hopewell Valley, Lawrence Township, and the Princeton Area, on Thursday, October 14, at 11:45 a.m. in the Yvonne Theater on Rider’s Lawrenceville campus.
Holt has held the seat since his election in 1998, and his successful 2008 reelection campaign also included his participation in a debate at Rider.
“Welcoming these two candidates to debate at Rider is thoroughly consistent with the Institute’s mission of public service and scholarly analysis of public policy, especially so close to Election Day,” said Ben Dworkin, director of the Rebovich Institute.
A busy election season will continue for the Rebovich Institute on Tuesday, October 19, at 7 p.m. when MSNBC news anchor, host and analyst David Shuster comes to Sweigart Auditorium to discuss the upcoming midterm elections and the role of the media in politics.
Shuster, who previously worked for CNN and Fox News Channel, has been at MSNBC since 2002. He has frequently guest-hosted Hardball with Chris Matthews and appeared often as a panelist on the network’s Morning Joe. In 2005, Shuster reported live from the eye of the hurricane as Karina made landfall in Biloxi, Miss., and spent weeks detailing the wake of the storm from New Orleans.
Post-election analysis from a polling perspective will be the order of the day when Frank Newport, president of the Gallup Poll, visits Sweigart Auditorium on Wednesday, November 17, at 7 p.m. Newport will offer insights on Election Day based on his unique view of both the larger national trends and the dynamics of individual races from across the country.
Looking ahead to the spring, political enthusiasts are in for a treat when former New Jersey Gov. Brendan T. Byrne visits the Mercer Room of Daly Dining Hall on April 14. Byrne, one of the truly insightful – and funny – personalities of Garden State politics, will sit for an interview before an audience to discuss the on the major issues of his administration, such as the creation of the state income tax, the advent of gambling in Atlantic City, the construction of the Meadowlands sports complex, and the Pinelands Wildlife Preserve, as well as the state of politics over the last 20 years.
In the past year, The Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics has hosted all three of the state’s 2009 gubernatorial candidates in its Governing New Jersey series, former Assembly Speaker Joseph J. Roberts, and, most recently, former state attorney general John J. Farmer, a member of the 9/11 Commission to discuss “The Legacy and Lessons of 9/11.” The annual Campaign Managers Conference, featuring top insiders from both sides of a major campaign coming together for a post-mortem on all aspects of the race, has also become a Rebovich Institute tradition.
Previously, the Rebovich Institute has welcomed former Republican presidential candidate and Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey.