Debate trait

Austin Lucous, who majors in political science at Wright State, is participating in post-debate panels of voters on PBS.

From the kitchen table in his West Milton home, Wright State University political science major Austin Lucous has shared his views of the presidential debates with a national television audience.

Lucous was selected to take part via video conferencing on a post-debate panel of voters on PBS in the presidential debates and the vice presidential debate. He was selected through a survey of voters in swing states that PBS posted on its Facebook page.

“I believe that they interviewed and chose me because my demographics lined up with the current narrative that white, college-educated males are leaving the Republican Party to support Joe Biden as president in a manner that could shift the election to benefit the Democratic Party,” he said.

Lucous had just returned home from a class on campus when he received a text from a producer with “PBS NewsHour” saying she was interested in speaking with him for a segment on debate night.

“I was extremely excited that I was even being considered to be a part of the coverage,” he recalled. “When she called me to conduct an interview later that day, my nerves began to set in, but I was confident that I had a good performance to answering her questions thoughtfully and effectively.”

A week later, the producer called Lucous back and told him he had been chosen to be on a panel to give his post-debate reactions. He was overwhelmed.

“In high school I had performed in front of people in choir and in musicals, but I had never been in front of a national audience,” he said. “This caused me to be nervous the day of the debate, but as it neared closer to the time of the debate, that nervousness dissipated. While on the panel, I felt very comfortable in sharing my opinion and I relied on my intuition gained in my classes to answer each question given to me.”

Sitting at the kitchen table in his home on Sept. 29, Lucous was asked about his general outlook on the presidential debate between Republican President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden; which candidate he preferred in regard to their answers on climate change; why as a Republican he planned to vote for Biden; and his view on race in relation to American politics.

“The most challenging thing about analyzing the debate was that I did not know what I was being asked until the moderator asked me and that I had to give each answer ad-libbed,” he said. “However, it was gratifying to know that I was able to address each question given to me in a thoughtful manner and that I made no major stumbles when voicing my opinion.”

During the vice presidential debate Oct. 7, Lucous found himself concerned about Harris’ response to a question about packing, or changing the structure of the U.S. Supreme Court, prompting him to rethink his potential support of the Democratic ticket.

“But Biden has recently indicated that he would not pack the court, so I am once again more inclined to vote for him,” said Lucous, who is also scheduled to be on the panel for the second presidential debate on Oct. 22.

Lucous grew up in the western Ohio village of West Milton. After graduating from Milton-Union High School in 2017, he attended The Ohio State University but left after two weeks because he felt that his professors were not very connected to their students.

“At first, I thought that I would go to Wright State for a semester or two and then I would return to Ohio State,” he said. “However, I was attracted to stay at Wright State due to how open our professors were to their students, which made me feel welcomed and excited to participate in class.”

Lucous became interested in politics as a sophomore in high school following the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014.

“I remember keeping a close eye on the conflict, and I remember being concerned by the lack of international action against the Russian government for the invasion,” he said.

Lucous said his interest in American politics may actually have started subconsciously before then.

During the 2004 presidential election, he remembers riding in the back of his mother’s car as a kindergartener and counting the number of George W. Bush yard signs in comparison to the number of John Kerry yard signs. Then in 2012, he remembers watching the presidential election with a close eye.

“I liked Mitt Romney as a candidate, and I remember being disappointed that I was too young to be able to vote for him,” Lucous said. “Then in 2016, I decided to get my feet wet in politics, and I began working on Senator Rob Portman’s re-election campaign while I was a senior in high school.”

Lucous majors in political science and minors in French and hopes to graduate next spring.

“Austin is such a gem at Wright State,” said Lee Hannah, associate professor of political science. “He’s so sharp and thoughtful about his political views but also so kind and charitable towards others’ views. He knows his stuff but always shares his knowledge in a way that improves the class and the discussion.”

Lucous says he finds politics interesting because it intersects with a wide variety of topics.

“This is a field where one must have a basic knowledge in a range of topics that vary from COVID-19 to the environment, both of which I spoke about on PBS,” he said.

Lucous is further interested in studying data on voter behavior. He credits that fascination to Hannah’s courses Campaigns and Elections, Political Participation and the 2020 Presidential Election as well as Lucous’ research as a volunteer assistant to Hannah on the effectiveness of county parties in recruiting volunteers and the footprint they have on social media.

“I knew that Austin would have the knowledge as well as the attention to detail that I needed to fully trust him with the project,” said Hannah. “He helped me to complete the first stages of a research project on local political parties that I think will get some attention from the parties and the media.”

Lucous said his classes at Wright State have made him knowledgeable about politics, the law, the U.S. Supreme Court, how history is taught in the United States and how to conduct himself in a group of people with conflicting ideas.

Following graduation, he plans to apply to the fellowship program offered by the Ohio Legislative Services Commission. He then hopes to work for a state or national legislator or return to school and become a lobbyist or a political consultant.

When Lucous isn’t doing schoolwork, he is usually reading political articles, listening to political podcasts or watching the news. He is also learning to play the piano.