Friday, March 16, 2018

2020 Presidential Nominee Predictions: Spring 2018

Unscripted Politics
2020 Predictions: Spring 2018


Methodology Note: This list is a collaborative effort between myself and my brother, Caleb Smith (a CNU Political Science graduate, whose blog you can find HERE). After identifying potential Democratic and Republican nominees, Caleb and I each ranked the likelihood of those individuals running for and winning their respective party’s nomination for candidacy for President of the United States in the 2020 national election. We then averaged our rankings to develop this final set of 2020 Presidential Nominee Predictions. Democrats are listed first, then Republicans.

Spring 2018 Note:
It is, of course, very early to be thinking about an election that is over 900 days away. And yet many of these candidates are already laying the groundwork for their campaigns. This is happening in ways seen (book tours and visits to early primary states) and unseen (private planning with advisors and donors). With the first candidacy announcements likely less than a year away, the political jockeying is already happening, making now a relevant time to begin periodically examining the field of potential nominees. We plan to do this quarterly in 2018, before ramping things up a bit in 2019, so stay tuned!!

Democratic Dark-Horses:

35. Jeff Merkley, 34. Tim Ryan, 33. John Delaney
32. Mitch Landrieu, 31. Eric Garcetti, 30. Doug Jones
29. Bill de Blasio, 28. Jerry Brown, 27. Steve Bullock
26. Jay Inslee, 25. Mark Warner, 24. Michelle Obama
23. Hillary Clinton, 22. Sheryl Sandberg, 21. Dwayne Johnson


Democratic Also-Rans:

Sunday, March 4, 2018

My Top 10 Movies of 2017

Unscripted Movie Reviews
2017 was a fun year at the movie theater, with a variety of engaging films filling up the Top 10. So let's get to it, with some quick house-cleaning to do first...

A Blast from the Past: My Top 10 Movies of 2016 - 2015 - 2014 - 2013 - 2012 - 2011 - 2010 - 2009

10 Potential Listbusters (some films I didn't see, but heard were good): All the Money in the World, Call Me By Your Name, The Florida Project, I Tonya, Lady Bird, Molly’s Game, Mudbound, Phantom Thread, Roman J. Israel Esq., Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri

15 Honorable Mentions: American Made, Annabelle: Creation, Boss Baby, Darkest Hour, The Greatest Showman, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, IT, Logan, Logan Lucky, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, The Shape of Water, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Star Wars: The Last Jedi


And now onto the feature presentation…

My Top 10 Movies of 2017: