The Bitter End Lib/E: The 2020 Presidential Campaign and the Challenge to American Democracy

The year 2020 was a tumultuous time in American politics. It brought a global pandemic, protests for racial justice, and a razor-thin presidential election outcome. It culminated in an attack on the US Capitol that attempted to deny Joe Biden's victory. The Bitter End explores the long-term trends and short-term shocks that shaped this dramatic year and what these changes could mean for the future. John Sides, Chris Tausanovitch, and Lynn Vavreck demonstrate that Trump's presidency intensified the partisan politics of the previous decades. Presidential elections have become calcified, with less chance of big swings in either party's favor. Republicans remained loyal to Trump and kept the election close, despite Trump's many scandals, a recession, and the pandemic. But in a narrowly divided electorate even small changes can have big consequences. The pandemic was a case in point: when Trump pushed to reopen the country even as infections mounted, support for Biden increased. The authors explain that, paradoxically, even as Biden's win came at a time of heightened party loyalty, there remained room for shifts that shaped the election's outcome. Ultimately, the events of 2020 showed that instead of the country coming together to face national challenges--the pandemic, George Floyd's murder, and the Capitol riot--these challenges only reinforced divisions.

About the Author :
Chris Tausanovitch is associate professor of political science at the University of California, Los Angeles. Lynn Vavreck is the Marvin Hoffenberg Professor of American Politics and Public Policy at the University of California, Los Angeles. She is coauthor, with John Sides, of The Gamble: Choice and Chance in the 2012 Presidential Election. Chris Tausanovitch is associate professor of political science at the University of California, Los Angeles. John Sides is the William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Political Science at Vanderbilt University. He is coauthor, with Lynn Vavreck and Michael Tesler, of Identity Crisis: The 2016 Presidential Campaign and the Battle for the Meaning of America. Alex Knox is a classically trained actor, equally comfortable as a leading man and a comedic character performer. In addition to a long list of theater credits, he has appeared in commercials, hosted a web series ("Science Talks with Alex Knox"), and, as an improv performer, entertained thousands of guests at Southern California's theme parks. Alex wrote No Static at All, a one-man play about seeking spiritual enlightenment through the music of Steely Dan, and has performed the show to sold-out houses in New York, Seattle, and Los Angeles. He is a graduate of UC Santa Barbara and the Yale School of Drama.