LAX Leader

Democratic Party delegates will convene in Chicago, Illinois, from Monday, August 19 to Thursday, August 22, for the Democratic National Convention. During this event, Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, will formally accept the party’s nomination.

USC experts are available to comment on the convention’s impact on political strategy, media tactics, and voter engagement.

Christian Grose is an expert in U.S. politics, government, and elections. Grose is a professor of political science and public policy at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences and academic director of the USC Schwarzenegger Institute for State and Global Policy at the USC Price School of Public Policy. He can be contacted at cgrose@usc.edu.

Mindy Romero is a political sociologist whose research focuses on political behavior and patterns of voting and political underrepresentation among youth and communities of color. She is the founder and director of the Center for Inclusive Democracy at USC Price. Romero can be reached at msromero@usc.edu.

Steve Caplan specializes in digital media, political advertising, and communications strategy. He is an adjunct instructor at USC Annenberg and founder of Message, a strategic communications firm based in Los Angeles. Previously a partner at GMMB, Caplan played a significant role in former President Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign. Contact him at scaplan@usc.edu.

Geoffrey Cowan is knowledgeable about campaign finance laws, policy and government ethics as well as journalism and communications education. Cowan holds multiple roles including university professor of communication at USC Annenberg. His contact email is gcowan@usc.edu.

Jeffrey Jenkins offers expertise in American political institutions such as Congress and political parties. He serves as provost professor of public policy along with other titles at USC Price. Jenkins can be contacted via jajenkins@usc.edu.

Martin Kaplan focuses on campaign coverage on local TV news; narrative communication in science; and democracy's interaction with the attention economy. Kaplan holds several positions including research professor at USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism. Reach him through martyk@usc.edu.

Morris Levy examines race relations in politics; voter ID laws; elections; immigration attitudes; having conducted numerous studies highlighting shifts towards decreased tolerance for racist expressions among certain demographics in the U.S., especially younger Americans liberals college-educated individuals associate professor Levy can be reached morrisl@usc.edu

Bob Shrum leads Center Political Future Carmen H Louis Warschaw Chair practical politics renowned strategist served speechwriter Senator George McGovern Edward Kennedy strategist numerous campaigns various levels government Joe Biden John Kerry Al Gore presidential races shrum@usc.edu

Christina Bellantoni brings over 20 years' experience reporting editing producing analyzing national TV covered local state federal government four presidential campaigns White House professional practice professor usc Annenberg christina.bellantoni@usc.edu

Contact: Nina Raffio raffio@usc.edu (213)442-8464; USC Media Relations uscnews@usc.edu (213)740-2215

###