Rice expert can discuss Trump rally in Houston, Texas early voting

EXPERT ALERT

David Ruth
713-348-6327
david@rice.edu

Rice expert can discuss Trump rally in Houston, Texas early voting

HOUSTON – (Oct. 19, 2018) – Rice University political scientist Mark Jones is available for interviews in person, by phone and via Rice’s VideoLink ReadyCam television studio to discuss President Donald Trump’s rally Monday in Houston and early voting in Texas, which begins Monday.

Mark JonesOn the rally, Jones said, “President Trump will use the rally to engage with his supporters both at the Toyota Center as well as across the state in an effort to boost Republican voter turnout and aid GOP candidates facing spirited challenges from Democratic rivals, including Sen. Ted Cruz and Congressmen John Culberson and Pete Sessions.”

On early voting, Jones said, “Every election cycle, more and more Texans cast their vote early rather than on Election Day, and I estimate that somewhere between three-fifths and two-thirds of Texas voters will cast their ballots prior to Nov. 6.

“The popularity of early voting has changed the dynamics of campaigns, with candidates working to reach likely voters earlier and earlier; by the end of October half of all votes will already have been cast.

“Expectations are for long lines Monday at early voting locations across the state, as passionate and energized Democratic and Republican voters, who have been chomping at the bit to exercise their right of suffrage, finally have the chance to do so.”

Rice’s VideoLink ReadyCam TV interview studio is capable of transmitting broadcast-quality standard-definition and high-definition video directly to all news media organizations around the world 24/7. Rice also has a university backdrop, 1080p webcam, light kit and wireless mic for Skype interviews.

To schedule an interview, contact David Ruth, director of national media relations at Rice, at 713-348-6327 or david@rice.edu.

Jones is the Joseph D. Jamail Chair in Latin American Studies, professor of political science, fellow in political science at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy and fellow at Rice’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research.

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Related materials:

Mark Jones recently in the news: https://tinyurl.com/ybvsoqob

Jones’ bio: https://www.bakerinstitute.org/experts/mark-p-jones/

Follow Rice News and Media Relations on Twitter @RiceUNews.
Follow Jones on Twitter @MarkPJonesTX.

Photos for download:

http://news.rice.edu/files/2018/10/Trump-123RF-Rice-220y5oe.jpg
Trump photo courtesy of 123rf.com/Rice University

http://news.rice.edu/files/2018/10/early-voting-1eicm3q.jpg
Early voting image courtesy of 123rf.com/Rice University

http://news.rice.edu/files/2014/09/mark-jones.jpg
Mark Jones photo courtesy of Rice University.

Located on a 300-acre forested campus in Houston, Rice University is consistently ranked among the nation’s top 20 universities by U.S. News & World Report. Rice has highly respected schools of Architecture, Business, Continuing Studies, Engineering, Humanities, Music, Natural Sciences and Social Sciences and is home to the Baker Institute for Public Policy. With 3,970 undergraduates and 2,934 graduate students, Rice’s undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio is just under 6-to-1. Its residential college system builds close-knit communities and lifelong friendships, just one reason why Rice is ranked No. 1 for lots of race/class interaction and No. 2 for quality of life by the Princeton Review. Rice is also rated as a best value among private universities by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance. To read “What they’re saying about Rice,” go to http://tinyurl.com/RiceUniversityoverview.

About David Ruth

David Ruth is director of national media relations in Rice University's Office of Public Affairs.