NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) – With the November General Election quickly approaching, Old Dominion University is hosting an upcoming discussion on the candidates, issues and races.
ODU political science professors Benjamin Melusky and Jesse Richman will lead the discussion on Oct. 31 at 12:20 p.m. in Room 1110 at the Darden College of Education and Professional Studies.
The event is free and open to the public.
On Nov. 7, all 100 seats in the House of Delegates and 40 seats in the state Senate will be on the ballot.
“Predicting outcomes for this election is made even more complicated given the large number of open seat races created by the most recent round of redistricting, which resulted in a large number of retirements and primary challenges earlier this year,” Melusky said.
“When we look at the roadmap for how either the Republicans or Democrats could gain control of the General Assembly, there really are only a small number of potentially tossup seats in both chambers given that so many districts are decidedly either solidly Democratic or solidly Republican,” Melusky said.
A new survey titled Life in Hampton Roads indicates independent and undecided votes will likely determine the election outcomes in Hampton Roads.
The survey shows people who identified as independents (32.2%) made up the biggest bloc, and more than 20% of respondents identified as something else or didn’t give a preference.
Melusky and Richman will discuss all of this in-depth and offer some predictions for election night at the Oct. 31 afternoon event.
