The Growing Divide: Political Realignment in the Modern Era

As this year’s momentous election campaign nears its climax, it is illustrating anew how the Democratic and Republican parties are undergoing profound ideological and demographic changes. Dole Institute Visiting Fellow Jerry Seib will be joined by Karen Tumulty, an associate editor and columnist at The Washington Post, for an overview of the campaign and how it is reshaping the nation’s political landscape for years to come.

Jerry Seib has been a journalist with The Wall Street Journal for almost 45 years. He served as the Journal’s Executive Washington Editor and wrote the weekly “Capital Journal” column for 29 years. He also reported from the Middle East for the Journal in the mid-1980s, covered the White House, has moderated three presidential debates, and interviewed every president since Ronald Reagan.

Karen Tumulty is an associate editor and columnist for The Post. In her previous role as a national political correspondent for the newspaper, she received the Toner Prize for Excellence in Political Reporting. She joined The Post in 2010 from Time magazine, where she had held the same title. During her more than 15 years at Time, Tumulty wrote or co-wrote more than three dozen cover stories. She also held positions with Time as congressional correspondent and White House correspondent. Before joining Time in 1994, Tumulty spent 14 years at the Los Angeles Times, where she covered a wide variety of beats. During her time there, she reported on Congress, business, energy and economics from Los Angeles, New York and D.C. Tumulty is a native of San Antonio, where she began her career at the now-defunct San Antonio Light. Tumulty holds a bachelor of journalism from the University of Texas at Austin and an MBA from Harvard Business School.