The 2020 presidential race between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden is coming to a close tomorrow, but a new chapter in political history is about to be written. Millions of voters have already cast their ballots, with record numbers voting early and by mail, and in some states there is a possibility of legal challenges following Election Day. That means an Election Day, night, and week like no other. Adam Reilly and Peter Kadzis, co-hosts of “The Scrum” podcast, joined Joe Mathieu on “Morning Edition” today to discuss what we can expect over the next 48 hours and beyond.
As political analysts who have covered the presidential race for months, Kadzis and Reilly understand why Americans feel anxious heading into election week. “I can’t remember a time in my life that there were two such disparate visions for the country,” Reilly said. “We have absolutely no idea what’s going to happen, starting Tuesday and extending into January.”
Adding to the uncertainty, many voters felt misled by the polls in the 2016 presidential election, which had predicted a victory for Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. Four years later, many polls indicate a sizable Biden lead — but can we believe them this time?
“I generally believe the polls, but polls are merely a prediction of where things stand in a moment in time,” Kadzis said. He said it’s likely we won’t have results Tuesday evening. “But I think we’re going to know sooner rather than later.”
In the 2000 presidential election, it took five weeks to determine a winner because of legal challenges, but Kadsiz anticipates that we will know the results much sooner this time, even if it is prolonged by irregularities. “It may take five weeks to nail the decision down," he said. "I think the decision will be fairly apparent within a few days."
To ease anxiety, Kadzis encouraged voters to watch for two indicators close to home, starting with Worcester County, where Republicans are gaining ground. “In Central Massachusetts, we have an example of the urban-rural divide that’s representative of Biden and Trump.” Then, look North to New Hampshire, where Kadzis says Biden is up by double digits. “If we look in our own backyard, we’ll get a little peek as to how things might go.”
Watch: Kadzis And Reilly On Their Differing Levels Of Election Day Anxiety