The final sprint to Election Day is underway. With Labor Day behind us, the presidential election, as well as races for congressional, state and local seats, enter a defining phase that's even more important this year.
Experts say from the White House to the State Capitol, the next several weeks are always crucial in driving turnout. What’s unusual this year is that when it comes to the Democratic ticket, they stress there is still a lot to learn for everyone.
Grant Reeher, political science professor at Syracuse University's Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, told Spectrum News 1 that while many have been watching the presidential race closely from the beginning, others are just getting situated.
“It’s traditionally been the final sprint, and Labor Day has always been the marker for that,” he said. “There is a group, though, that really doesn’t pay much attention until we get into the fall.”
While this is traditionally when that group joins, for those already dialed in, he stressed, this election is anything but traditional.
“The voters are still going to be traveling a pretty steep learning curve over the next month and a half,” he said.
He pointed out that the nation knows former President Donald Trump quite well, but when it comes to Vice President Kamala Harris, many question marks remain.
“The question out there is, 'How would a Harris presidency differ from a Biden presidency?'” he said. “I think what people have a better idea of is how a Harris presidency would differ from a Trump presidency in some of the major themes.”
The scheduled presidential debate on Sept. 10 will be an opportunity to sort some of that out. For Harris, he feels she needs to both energize the Democratic base and work to persuade undecided voters.
“The only way you’re going to be able to do that is talk more specifically about what you want to do,” he said.
As for Trump, Reeher suggested he act “more presidential” and avoid the personal attacks that have defined the period following Harris replacing President Joe Biden on the ticket.
“Focus on the policy, really push the Democrats to define what it is they want to do,” Reeher said.
Shawn Donahue, assistant professor of political science at the University at Buffalo, emphasized that control of the House of Representatives is likely to run through New York’s battlegrounds, and turnout, likely driven by the presidential race, will be key.
With Harris relatively safe atop the ticket in New York, the effort to flip the House could depend on Democrats feeling motivated and enthusiastic enough to go out and vote for her in large numbers.
“The hope for Democrats is that having Kamala Harris at the top of the ticket will excite and enthuse some of their voters, and that will help them in races down the ballot,” he said.
At the state level, he said that while the legislature is almost guaranteed to remain under Democratic control, Democrats are going to have to defend their supermajorities, especially in the Senate.
“Democrats have just enough seats to have a supermajority there, while Republicans will be trying to chip away at those numbers to bring their numbers up a little higher,” he said.
Another big question mark in New York is Proposal 1, the Equal Rights Amendment, which is, of course, drawing a good deal of its own controversy heading into Election Day and could be a factor in driving turnout.