KSL at Night: 11-4-2024

Hosts: Leah Murray, Adam Gardiner, and Andy Cupp

Harris or Trump: Will either affect Utah’s legislative priorities in 2025?
If former President Donald Trump wins tomorrow, will that affect priorities for the Utah Legislature in the next general session? What if Vice President Kamala Harris wins? We begin this special pre-election KSL at Night bringing the presidential election down to the local level, examining the potential effects of a Trump or Harris presidency on Utah state politics.

Frontrunner presidential candidate in Iowa flips from Trump to Harris
The final Iowa Poll of this election came out over the weekend and it now shows Vice President Kamala Harris leading in this ruby-red state. Former President Donald Trump won Iowa in 2016 and 2020, and was leading there until just recently. What possibly changed to give Harris this kind of momentum boost? The KSL at Night hosts share their theories.

Control over Congress up in the air; leaders fighting to keep their positions
It’s the final day before the election and all hands are on deck. As everyone focuses on the presidential race, we can’t not also talk about Congress. Republicans and Democratic Congressional leaders are fighting to maintain their positions, and even expand their reach. What are House and Senate leaders doing in this final push to win or keep control?

Is Election Day special anymore?
In a by-mail voting world, is Election Day special anymore? Back in the day, you would vote in-person after market day – this is why Election Day falls on a Tuesday. But nowadays, it’s basically turned into Election Season. So why is a specific day important, or even needed? Listen for a bit of a history lesson as hosts Adam Gardiner and Leah Murray discuss the future.

Discussing the Electoral College – its past, present, and future
One thing that often comes up during a presidential election is the difference between the popular vote and the Electoral College vote. Just because a candidate wins the most costs doesn’t mean that they win the presidency – it all comes down to the states and the electoral votes a candidate receives. Ahead of the election results, let’s take a few minutes to discuss the Electoral College.

Detoxing America’s ‘toxic’ political environment
As we’ve seen in this election – and really any election – politics can be controversial and sometimes even toxic. Why is this? Is it because it’s just part of human nature? And if it is super toxic, does that mean all hope is lost. Samantha Moore-Berg, assistant professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Utah joins the show to discuss some research she’s recently done on toxicity in politics.

How our media choices affect our political views
An important part of voting is being informed. And that often means we’re looking up news and media to find out more about candidates and issues. Obviously, each kind of news or media source has some kind of bias, so what do you do to find good information? We share some thoughts on the media sources that help us find common ground rather than divide us further.

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