With election season in full swing, former Virginia Gov. L. Douglas Wilder joined political analysts for a discussion on the importance of a people-first government during a symposium at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Singleton Performing Arts Center on Tuesday evening.

The first elected African American governor in the nation along with political analyst Bob Holsworth, founder and director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia Larry Sabato, VCU L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs’ associate dean of research and outreach Robyn McDougle and VCU Wilder School Dean Susan Gooden. They shared their thoughts on the presidential ticket and the importance of a people-first government. 

The forum also weighed in on new statistics on Virginia voters’ preferences from the school’s Commonwealth Poll, as well as domestic and foreign policy issues.

“The people are eager to learn… What difference does it make if you’re elected?” Wilder asked the audience on the importance of being involved with the government. “People say, ‘I want you to elect me.’ For what? What have you done? What have you tried to do? What are you going to do? When did you fail and why did you fail? ...This is not a situation of graduating preceding with degrees.”

Holsworth also said that a people-first government is democracy.

“In democracy, you know the people are going to rule, and eventually, you want to ensure that their voice is taken into account,” he said during Tuesday afternoon’s press conference.

Sabato echoed this sentiment.

“This is exactly when we should be having events like this. It’s election season,” he said. “But in any event, this is what we need to do is to stir things up and getting people close.”

While the symposium was open to the public, McDougle also emphasized that college students’ voices were just as critical in the presidential election.

“They have ideas, they have thoughts and they want to be heard,” she said. “You’re seeing that around not just VCU, but around the Commonwealth and around the country ... They’re an increased independent presence as well, which is playing a big role — I think — in this election.”

The forum also discussed recent results from the Commonwealth Poll that showed Virginia is a battleground state in the election. The poll gathered over a representative sample of 813 adults around the state. The surveyors made telephone interviews from Aug. 26 to Sept. 6 asking interviewees about their thoughts on the election, as well as their voting preferences. The survey found that 46% of Virginia voters plan to vote for Vice President Kamala Harris and 36% of voters planned to vote for former President Trump. The findings also presented that independent voters back in August preferred President Biden by 16% to 10%, but once Biden dropped out, Harris led Trump by 26% to 19%.

There is a narrow margin between which candidate is more trustworthy with the economy, however. The survey showed that Virginians trust Harris more by 38%, but also trust Trump by 37%, 18% said neither. Democrats, Republicans and independent voters all are concerned about the rising cost of living, according to the poll.

“The No. 1 issue everyone talks about is cost of living,” McDougle explained. “That was true with the economy and the gubernatorial in 2021 and the only thing that slightly edged it in the 2020 presidential [election] was that the economy was No. 1.”

At both the press conference and the forum, Sabato spoke highly of Wilder — who is now 93 years old — and his ability to still influence people.

“He has lived American politics and American history. Just being with him and being with his associates is a terrific thing, and should inspire particularly young people to get involved and register and vote in the election.”

“Let’s just say [Biden] didn’t age as well as Gov. Wilder,” he added, followed by laughs from the crowd.

The annual symposium was hosted by the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs. The deadline to register to vote is Oct. 1. Early voting begins Friday, Sept. 20.