1st Edition
Geographies of the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election
This timely, insightful and expert-led volume interprets the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election from a geographical standpoint, with a focus on its spatial dimensions.
With contributions from leading thinkers, this book highlights the unique circumstances of the election, including the Covid pandemic and a president who falsely alleged that it was a massive fraud, particularly after he lost. The volume offers an introduction and 11 chapters that examine the run-up to the election, the motivations of Trump supporters, the election results themselves, case studies of the battleground states of Wisconsin and Georgia, and the chaotic aftermath. Accompanied with an engaging plethora of figures providing a visual demonstration of data trends, both national and local case studies are considered throughout this book, as well as right-wing radicalization, the role of Cuban-Americans, race, and threats to American democracy.
This book is an ideal study companion for faculty and graduate students in fields including geography and political science, sociology, American studies, media studies and urban planning, as well as those with an interest in U.S. politics more generally.
List of Figures
List of Tables
List of Contributors
1. Introduction: The 2020 Presidential Election in Context
Barney Warf and John Heppen
2. From Voting to Vice-President: 100 Years of Women in U.S. Politics
Fiona M. Davidson and Kimberly Johnson Maier
3. The Economic and Psychological Origins of Right-Wing Radicalization in the U.S.
Jakob Hanschu and Laurie M. Johnson
4. The Geography of the 2020 Election’s Presidential/Congressional Voting Gap
Adam S. Dohrenwend
5. Contesting Control of the Senate: The Georgia Senate Elections, 2020-2021
Fred M. Shelley
6. Covid-19, Race, and the 2020 Election in Wisconsin
Ryan Weichelt
7. Political Ramifications of the Jacob Blake Shooting in Kenosha, Wisconsin on the 2020 Presidential Election
Kenneth French and Ryan Weichelt
8. Diseased Democracy: Geographies of the Covid-19 Pandemic and its Impact on the 2020 Presidential Election
Shaun J. Johnson
9. "The Apartment above a Meth Lab"? Participation in and Impacts of the 2020 US election in Canada
Jamey Essex
10. Fear, Joy, and Socialism in Cuban and Cuban-American Perspectives of the 2020 Presidential Election
John Paul Henry and Abraham Stephenson
11. "I was Robbed": Election as Title Match
David Beard and John Heppen
Index
Biography
Barney Warf is a Professor of Geography at the University of Kansas. Much of his research concerns producer services and telecommunications, particularly the geographies of the internet, including fiber optics, the digital divide, e-government, and internet censorship. He views these topics through the lens of political economy and social theory. He also maintains an active interest in political geography, including elections, voting technologies, and the U.S. electoral college. Currently, he serves as editor of GeoJournal, editor-in-chief for geography for Oxford Bibliographies On-Line, and edits a series of geography texts. His teaching interests include urban and economic geography, the history of geographic thought, globalization, and contemporary social theory.
John Heppen is a Professor of Geography at the University of Wisconsin River Falls. With David Beard, he has written on professional wrestling for Political Landscapes in the Age of Donald Trump, for the Popular Culture Studies Journal, for Iconic Sports Venues: Persuasion in Public Spaces, and for Sports Fans, Identity, and Socialization: Exploring the Fandemonium. They present research at the annual WrestlePosium, the conference of the Professional Wrestling Studies Association. He is also one of the co-editors of Atlas the 2016 Elections and Atlas of the 2020 Elections.
