BEMIDJI, Minn. — Dr. Patrick Donnay will outline interesting national congressional races of the 2008 campaign during a 10 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 21, presentation “America’s Other Election Battle: the Fight for Control of Congress” in the Bemidji State University Center for Research and Innovation, located at 3801 Bemidji Avenue North.
Free and open to the public, the 90-minute program is part of the fall Tuesday morning lecture series sponsored by the Academy of Lifelong Learning and coordinated by the CRI.

While voters are paying most attention to the current historic presidential election, another struggle is shaping up in Congress, where both sides of the political aisle are fighting to enhance their position. Donnay will discuss the processes, strategies, tactics and operatives at play in the battleground congressional districts of 2008.

A professor of political science at Bemidji State, he and his students will focus specifically on a handful of the most competitive U.S. House races. His students in a class on campaigns and elections have completed detailed analysis on the hottest contests and have projected winners of each.

“The congressional role on the Wall Street bailout ought to make some of these races even more challenging to predict,” Donnay said. “My goal will be to put this all into context.”

He will also address questions relating to whether having a Congress from the same party as the president makes governing easier and to what extent party majorities matter in Congress.

“I think anyone interested in the state of American politics would gain something from this lecture,” Donnay added. “Of course, we won’t know the results of the elections for president or Congress at this point, but I can offer some insight into the prospects for governance going forward in 2009.”

A member of the BSU faculty since 1991, he completed a bachelor’s degree at St. Cloud State University and a doctoral program at the University of Iowa. His main research interests are in state campaign finance while several works related to the performance of the Minnesota system have been published in “Legislative Studies Quarterly,” “State and Local Government Review,” and “Perspectives on Minnesota Government and Politics.”

The Academy of Lifelong Learning offers humanities-based programs made possible in part with private donations and support from Bemidji State University. Individuals who wish to be added to the ALL mailing list or have questions about this program should contact the Bemidji State University Center for Research and Innovation at (218) 755-4900; toll free, (888) 738-3224; email, cri@bemidjistate.edu; or at http://www.cri-bsu.org.

FOR YOUR CALENDAR
Oct. 21 – 10 a.m. – Bemidji State University Center for Research and Innovation hosts Academy of Lifelong Learning lecture “America’s Other Election Battle: the Fight for Control of Congress.” Presenter: Dr. Patrick Donnay, professor of political science at Bemidji State. Location: CRI; 3801 Bemidji Ave. N., Bemidji, Minn. Cost: free. For information: (218) 755-4900; (888) 738-3224; http://www.cri-bsu.org.