ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Political Scientists and Researchers will be studying the 2024 Presidential Election for years to come. An Associate Professor from the University of New Mexico gave New Mexicans perspective on the state of the country.

“The mood of the country going into this election as horrible. Something like a quarter of voters think the country is in the right direction. The rest think it is on the wrong track,” said Loren Collingwood, a Political Science Associate Professor at UNM.

He also talked about what may have given former President and current President-Elect Donald Trump an edge over Vice President Kamala Harris.

One of those things was his appeal to people who are struggling under the current administration and wanted change.

“A message from Trump was ‘Let’s blow it all up, these institutions are screwing you,’ potentially is appealing to, regardless of race, poorer people in the country,” said the associate professor.

While Harris could have driven home the economy more in battleground states.

“The economy was superseding democracy. That might be one of the reasons why Trump was able to run the board in swing states in particular. The advertising and the messaging on the economy is what people wanted to hear more as opposed to this ‘existential’ threat that Trump poses to the country,” said Collingwood.

He also said Trump’s targeted messaging to Latino and young men also played a big role.

“In an environment where Democrats are raising abortion as an issue and running the table with well-educated women. A cohort of voters that may see the world differently than that group of people may potentially be susceptible from messaging from Trump, which was very much a bromance situation,” said Collingwood.