William G. Mayer

William Mayer, a political science professor at Northeastern University, told Factcheck.org that the Democratic convention delegate rules allow for pledged delegates to vote for a new candidate. “You are kind of encouraged to vote for the candidates for whom you were elected – but ‘in all good conscience’ you could vote for someone else,” Mayer said.

William Mayer, a political science professor at Northeastern University, told Factcheck.org that the Democratic convention delegate rules allow for pledged delegates to vote for a new candidate. “You are kind of encouraged to vote for the candidates for whom you were elected – but ‘in all good conscience’ you could vote for someone else,” Mayer said.

“A withdrawal this late has its own challenges,” said William Mayer, a Northeastern University political scientist. “The delegates are planning to go to the Chicago convention with the intention of voting for Biden. This is unusual – and dangerous – and that’s before we even consider the question of who will replace him as nominee.”

Counting Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Michigan, Trump has won a little over three-fifths of the total combined vote so far. That slightly exceeds the share that Reagan won in 1980 and equals the percentage George W. Bush won in 2000, according to results compiled by Northeastern University political scientist William Mayer. 

“Crazy as it may sound, it’s no longer unusual for potential presidential candidates to test the waters this early,” said William Mayer, a Northeastern University political scientist. “Of course, Pompeo hasn’t yet announced his candidacy, and he may ultimately decide not to run. But I can guarantee you that a number of other Republicans are […]

“This works, at least for now, for Biden,” said William Mayer, a Northeastern University political scientist. “It wouldn’t work against an ordinary opponent. The virus gives Biden a great excuse to keep himself hidden from the public. There are legitimate questions to be raised about Biden, but the fewer public appearances he makes the fewer […]

“If you want to win, you have to get a significant percentage of the swing voters,” said William G. Mayer, a professor of political science at Northeastern University who has written extensively about swing voters. 

In 2008, after winning Iowa but losing New Hampshire and Nevada, Mr Obama enjoyed a huge win over Mrs Clinton in South Carolina including 78 per cent of the black vote, according to data compiled by William Mayer, a politics professor at Northeastern University.

In fact, winning in New Hampshire increases a candidate’s expected share of the total primary vote by 27 percentage points, according to William Mayer, a political scientist at Northeastern University. 

One way to get at this question is to use the approach of Northeastern University political scientist William Mayer, who wrote a 2008 book on the subject.