Bob Graham Center hosts leading expert on Florida politics

September 29, 2010

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Susan MacManus, one of Florida’s leading political analysts, will share her insights into the upcoming midterm elections on Tuesday at the University of Florida’s Bob Graham Center for Public Service.

The presentation will begin at 7 p.m. in Pugh Hall’s Ocora. MacManus regularly appears in the national news media, including CNN, National Public Radio and The New York Times, and is known as one of the essential expert sources for journalists and others writing about politics in the Sunshine State. She has been a professor, author and columnist for more than two decades.

Now a distinguished professor at the University of South Florida, MacManus will be sharing her thoughts and predictions about one of the most contentious election cycles in modern Florida’s history.

In addition to looking at leading state campaigns, MacManus also will discuss national trends and hot-button issues, including the rise of the Tea Party movement, immigration and unemployment.

As in other states, independent voters in Florida will help decide if the Republicans take control of the House or the Senate away from President Barack Obama’s majority Democrats, according to MacManus.

“They have very different opinions,” MacManus said of independent voters in a recent interview. “It’s really hard to just say one size fits all.”

“Many younger voters have been taught that educated people don’t vote by party, they vote by the person,” MacManus said. “Others — immigrants didn’t grow up in a place where there were parties like we have — they can be a very diverse part.”

MacManus, who is unaffiliated with any political party, has served in a leadership capacity on several major election reform panels.

She served as chair of the Florida Elections Commission from 1999 to 2003 and helped the Collins Center for Public Policy draft Florida’s Help America Vote Act state plan, which was required by Congress to quality for federal funding under the Help America Vote Act. She also served as an adviser to the Florida Division of Elections on the development of its statewide poll worker training manual.

For the last five election cycles, she has served as a political analyst for WFLA-TV, the Tampa NBC affiliate. She was a blogger for TBO.com during the 2004 and 2006 election campaigns. She is also a featured columnist with the Sayfie Review.

The Tuesday event will also be streamed live from the Bob Graham Center website, www.bobgrahamcenter.ufl.edu.

The Bob Graham Center provides students with opportunities to train for future leadership positions, meet policymakers and take courses in critical thinking, language learning and studies of world cultures. Its mission is to foster public leadership and solve issues related to the Americas and homeland security. It also serves as a magnet to attract distinguished scholars and speakers to Florida.