More than 170,000 people in the U.S. have died from coronavirus. Beyond the terrible death toll, the pandemic has wrecked the economy and interrupted everyday life. As a result, while Americans may be more politically polarized than ever, if there is one thing people on all sides of the political spectrum agree on, it is that COVID-19 has fundamentally disrupted the 2020 presidential election. On August 17, the general election season kicked off with back-to-back political conventions which, thanks to the pandemic, have taken an unconventional turn, swapping a week of festivities for each party with somber-toned, two-dimensional television shows, indicating the seriousness of the moment.

On the heels of the Democratic convention and on the eve of the Republican one, Public Strategies’ Howard Schweitzer, Mark Alderman, and Jim Schultz discuss this year’s biggest political events and what to expect over the next 70+ days, as the turmoil in the country continues and the election nears.