Experts on vice president candidate selection

How today’s political climate will shape the vice presidential candidate selection

Nadia Brown, an associate professor of political science and African American Studies, can talk about what makes a strong vice president pick in today’s current political climate. She can focus on identity politics that are associated with the candidates themselves, such as race and gender. Brown is one of 10 professors who created the site www.womenalsoknowstuff.com. Her areas of expertise include political behavior and minority representation, especially related to black women in politics, including Congress and state legislatures. She also is the author of “Sisters in the Statehouse: Black Women and Legislative Decision Making” and “Distinct Identities: Minorities Women in the U.S. Politics.”

CONTACT: Brown is available for phone, email or television interviews in the Indianapolis area. brown957@purdue.edu

Prof on history and ‘the math’ behind the vice president picks

James McCann, professor of political science, can talk about how the practice of a presidential nominees personally selecting the vice president running mates, which dates back only to 1940. He also can discuss how vice presidential selection has been part of the party conventions over the years, and the “conventional wisdom” in strategies behind the selections, including the size of the prospective nominee’s state, whether they ran for the office of president and age. McCann, who focuses on public opinion and political psychology, can also talk about how much does who the nominee is matters compared to perceptions of the presidential nominees’ governmental performance and various social group identities.

McCann, who also is a co-principal investigator of the “2012 Latino Immigrant National Election Study” (LINES), is an expert on the political incorporation of immigrants in the United States.

CONTACT: McCann is available for phone, email or television interviews in West Lafayette or Indianapolis, 765-494-0738, mccannj@purdue.edu 

Writer: Amy Patterson Neubert, 765-494-9723, apatterson@purdue.edu

Note to Journalists: These Purdue University experts are willing to discuss topics related to the selection of the presidential candidates’ vice presidents, as well as provide reaction regarding those picks when they are named.