On Shifting Ground

Will an “October Surprise” Decide the 2024 Election?

We're entering the final days of the 2024 presidential election, but a lot can change in a few weeks. Historically, several presidential contests have been upended in October. Coined the "October Surprise," for decades candidates have been tested at the finish line... and many have faltered. So what could trip up Harris or Trump? 

Ray Suarez hosts a panel featuring political strategist and pollster Rachel Bitecofer, Jonathan M. Metzl, author of Dying of Whiteness: How the Politics of Racial Resentment is Killing America's Heartland, and Tara Setmayer, co-founder and CEO of the Seneca Project.

Guests:

Rachel Bitecofer, author, political strategist and pollster

Jonathan M. Metzl, author and director of the Department of Medicine, Health, and Society, at Vanderbilt University

Tara Setmayer, co-founder and CEO of the Seneca Project

Host:  

Ray Suarez

If you value this programming, you can help support future ones just like it. Visit Commonwealth Club World Affairs to make a donation. Any amount helps, thank you!

Do you ever feel like reality is shifting beneath your feet? Veteran journalist Ray Suarez spent forty years covering elections, civil wars, and pandemics that shaped the way we live. He’s seen entire countries flipped upside down and right side up… and now he’s here to bring a sensible voice to our endless doom-scrolling. Each week, Ray hosts conversations with journalists, leaders and policy experts that explore how people from New Hampshire to New Guinea are navigating our rapidly changing world. A co-production of Commonwealth Club - World Affairs and KQED.