The Crystal Ball is coming out a day early this week because we wanted to invite our readers to watch the University of Virginia Center for Politics’ 18th annual American Democracy Conference, which is going on today from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Ronald Reagan Building & International Trade Center in Washington D.C. Registration is full but members of the media interested in covering the conference are welcome to attend, and we will be streaming the conference live throughout the day at https://livestream.com/tavco/ADC2016.
Our featured speakers are Kellyanne Conway, who managed Donald Trump’s successful presidential campaign, at 9 a.m., and Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) at 12:30 p.m. Additionally, Center for Politics Director Larry J. Sabato will interview Khizr Khan, the Gold Star father who spoke at the Democratic National Convention, at 1:30 p.m. There will also be three panels discussing various aspects of the 2016 campaign.
Here’s the full program:
9:00 a.m.
Welcoming Remarks by Larry J. Sabato, Director, UVA Center for Politics
9:05 a.m.
Keynote Speaker: Kellyanne Conway, campaign manager for President-elect Donald J. Trump’s campaign
9:45 a.m. – 11 a.m.
Panel I – Politics and the Fourth Estate
Moderator: Geoffrey Skelley, Associate Editor of Sabato’s Crystal Ball
Molly Ball, National Politics Staff Writer for The Atlantic
Jamelle Bouie, Chief Political Correspondent for Slate
Karen Tumulty, National Political Correspondent for The Washington Post
Carlos Watson, Editor in Chief, OZY.com
11 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
Panel II – Divided States of America
Moderator: Kyle Kondik, Managing Editor of Sabato’s Crystal Ball
Alan Abramowitz, Sabato’s Crystal Ball senior columnist and Emory University professor
Glen Bolger, Republican pollster and co-founder of Public Opinion Strategies
Angela Rye, Principal and CEO of IMPACT Strategies
David Byler, Elections Analyst for RealClearPolitics
12:15 p.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Lunch
12:30 p.m. – 1:15 pm.
Keynote Speaker: Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME)
1:15 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Presentation by Alan Abramowitz, Emory University professor
1:30 p.m. – 2:15 p.m.
Larry Sabato interviews Khizr Khan, Gold Star father who spoke at the Democratic National Convention
2:15 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Panel III – Political Perspectives on 2016 and Beyond
Moderator: Carol Costello, CNN
Perry Bacon Jr., Senior Political Reporter, NBC News
Fred Barnes, Executive Editor of The Weekly Standard
Joe Borelli, Council member, 51st District and Minority Whip of New York City Council
Maria Cardona, Democratic strategist and principal at Dewey Square Group