Days ahead of the Virginia gubernatorial election, UVA’s Center for Politics talks about Democrat Terry McAuliffe’s campaign. J. Miles Coleman says McAuliffe is leaning on his previous term as governor in his message to Virginia voters.
Shots at Carlyle’s controversial deals in nursing homes have not landed in the way Barack Obama was able to sway voters against former Bain Capital head Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election. “It didn’t sell,” said Larry Sabato, founder of the UVA Center for Politics, of the McAuliffe campaign’s attacks on Youngkin’s business record. “All [voters] know is the guy is worth hundreds of millions of dollars, and to the vast majority of Americans, that signals success.”
Paid leave is far from the only divide between the candidates, but McAuliffe’s emphasis has elevated debate over workers’ need for paid time off amid a pandemic that’s heightened public awareness of the issue – and employer pushback against it. McAuliffe’s stance aligns him with President Joe Biden’s agenda, which included paid family and medical leave, boosting the national overtone of the race. “Part of the reason paid leave is getting so much attention in the Virginia governor’s race is that it’s been getting so much national attention as well,” said Jennifer Lawless, a professor of politic...
Larry Sabato, of the UVA Center for Politics, said, “Democrats are disillusioned and therefore less enthusiastic about voting. That is really entirely the reason why this is tied. Republican enthusiasm is through the roof, Democratic enthusiasm is much lower than that,” said Sabato.
Larry Sabato, director of UVA’s Center for Politics, said: “This is going to be a test case that Republicans will use in 2022, whether Youngkin wins or not, because it’s clearly going to be close. The fact that he could turn a +10 Biden state, with Biden’s help and the congressional Democrats’ help, into a close contest tells you that some of the social and cultural issues, however outrageous they are, are working.”
Republicans nationally are poised for gains in next year’s midterm elections – reflecting the nation’s longstanding pattern of rewarding the party that lost the White House two years before. So long as Americans remain uneasy about the pandemic, the economy, and President Joe Biden’s leadership, Democrats stand to lose control of Congress whether or not McAuliffe manages to keep the Virginia governor’s mansion in his party’s hands. “If McAuliffe wins by one or loses by one, is the message going to be any different?” asked Larry Sabato, who directs UVA’s Center on Politics. “No – it’s going to ...
A Youngkin victory could provide a template for Republicans walking a fine line in next year’s congressional races. “Spending a lot of your time trying to cultivate the middle might be wise because it might be that the Trump electorate is going to be fired up no matter what,” said Kyle Kondik, an analyst at UVA’s Center for Politics.
(Co-written by Michal Baruza, law professor) A new ruling by the Delaware Court of Chancery in the Marriott data breach case highlights the centrality of cybersecurity risks to directors oversight duties,while confirming the principle that directors who monitor cyber risks closely, seek outside advice and act diligently to mitigate risks would not face liability.
Approaching COP26 reminders of the environmental challenges facing the world come thick and fast, many linked to deep societal challenges. Following the trauma of the pandemic, in an era already characterized by technological and market disruption, it is hard to look on the bright side. Yet there are reasons to believe these challenges can be overcome – some coming from the promise of international government action – many more depending on innovative entrepreneurial business. A new white paper, from UVA Darden Executive Education & Lifelong Learning, offers expert insight on the way forwa...
(Commentary by Nicholas Sargen, lecturer at the Darden School) No one said governing would be easy. After the 2020 elections, most investors thought President Biden would have to settle for a pared down legislative agenda because Democrats controlled both houses of Congress by the narrowest of margins. Instead, Biden bought the progressives’ argument to be big and bold after successfully enacting a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package. But it has proved far more difficult for Democrats to agree on the $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill passed by the House of Representatives.
(Commentary co-written by Ben Castleman, associate professor of education and director of the Nudge4 Solutions Lab) The scaled-back version of president Biden’s signature Build Back Better plan only heightens the importance of investing limited resources in evidence-based strategies. Our research suggests that college advising models can close the gap in degree attainment between academically-prepared students from the bottom and top quartile of family income and substantially reduce racial gaps.
(Commentary co-written by Brad Wilcox, sociology professor and director of the National Marriage Project) In determining what should or should not be included in the Build Back Better plan, those in charge of the process should have a version of the Hippocratic oath in mind – “First, do no harm.” Unfortunately, the deal proposed on Thursday by the Biden administration would do real harm to low-income couples, penalizing them for getting married relative to staying single or cohabiting.
UVA Health has created a fairly thorough review of foods to consume and those to avoid if you’ve been diagnosed with small intestinal bacterial overgrowth. It is essentially a low-sugar and low-fiber diet that is rich in both fat and protein. Bacteria, just like humans, love to get their fuel from sugar, so reducing your sugar intake can help keep your gut bacteria in check.
UVA Health held a COVID-19 briefing Friday morning. Safely celebrating Halloween was addressed at the start of the briefing.
People near UVA Health will see the hospital’s South Tower lit up in blue this weekend. This is to recognize Dysautonomia Awareness Month, which is marked every October. Dysautonomia is an autonomic nervous system disorder, which means it affects the automatic functions of the body that take place without conscious thought, such as the heart rate, pupil movement, kidney function and body temperature control.
UVA Health doctors spoke about COVID-19 pandemic burnout during a media briefing Friday. They say the duration and intensity of care needed for patients suffering from the virus has a toll. The emotional and physical stress weighs on medical center staff. “I think like many of us, we thought this might be a sprint at the beginning and it’s turned out to be maybe more than one marathon, several marathons, and it’s unclear when it’s going to end,” UVA Health Dr. Reid Adams said. “I think all of those things continue to weigh on everybody.”
Some studies have been published that suggest that cancer patients and those with chronic conditions such as arthritis, fibromyalgia, and any other autoimmune diseases can benefit from using infrared sauna therapy. In a study by UVA Health that spanned over 20 years, it was discovered that people who used this type of therapy showed vast improvements in their health by way of relief from chronic pain.
2. “Choosing Courage: The Everyday Guide to Being Brave at Work” by Jim Detert: Doing for courage what Angela Duckworth has done for grit and Brené Brown for vulnerability, a University of Virginia business professor explains that courage isn’t a character trait that only a few possess; it’s a virtue developed through practice.
Chesterfield’s Black population saw the largest increase among residents, with the population growing by nearly 25% to about 81,000 people, according to census data compiled by the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service at the University of Virginia. Weldon Cooper’s data includes people who are identified as more than one race.
The expansion comes as health experts watch for a repeat of last winter’s surge, exacerbated by holiday travel and winter weather. Infectious disease modelers from UVA’s Biocomplexity Institute say there’s a chance new cases could exceed last January’s peak.