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In the News

Stamato Commentary: In the Crosshairs: The Nation’s Civil Service

By Linda Stamato While President Trump’s efforts to force out tens of thousands of civilian federal workers and to dismantle entire agencies have hit legal challenges, and generating some resistance from agency heads, those efforts remain front and center on the Trump...

Stamato Commentary: A functioning democracy requires knowledge

By Linda Stamato The question arises frequently enough as to what constitutes local news that I thought I’d address it. Sometimes, it’s abundantly clear what is local—mayoral elections, housing and parking authorities. But other times, it’s less obvious. What is...

Jagannathan Receives Chancellor Award for Global Impact

Bloustein School Professor Radha Jagannathan was recently named the recipient of the Rutgers Chancellor Award for Global Impact.

The award honors a faculty member whose research, teaching, or service has catalyzed global partnerships or generated global impacts and exceptional public engagement.

Do Party Chairmen Still Hold Power in New Jersey Now That the Party Line Is Gone?

Political analyst Julia Sass Rubin, a professor at Rutgers University who has studied the county line’s effects, argues that while the change is a step toward fairness, party chairmen retain significant sway. “The line’s removal weakens their ability to directly control ballot placement, but these leaders still command loyalty, fundraising networks, and grassroots operations,” Rubin said. “They’ve lost a tool, not their toolbox.”

County conventions were all the rage in NJ. Now candidates are skipping out.

“The fact that so many people are choosing not to go through the process really highlights just how powerful the county line itself is in determining who wins the primary, putting aside all that other stuff,” said Julia Sass Rubin, a Rutgers professor whose research was cited in overturning the line. “The candidates feel like they can afford to do this now. They don’t have to drop out if they’re not the favorite daughter or son, and they don’t have to go through the process of getting endorsed.”

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