Why Are US Presidential Elections So Close?

Whatever the case may be, this outlying campaign will be debated and dissected in lecture halls and journals for years to come. “I think the campaign will draw more scholars of American politics to the topic of populism,” says Hersh. And, perhaps, it will spur new ideas on the interplay and relative importance of policy, valence, the median voter, and close elections. In that sense, one thing is sure: punditry and political science will have to change, at least a bit, to account for it.