Acknowledgements

This is now the sixth Election Analysis report we have produced in five years and the second U.S. Election Analysis Report. It has been a privilege to share this journey with the contributors to these reports: many of whom we know well, and many of whom we have met through this collaboration.

We were keen for the U.S. 2020 election report’s editorial team to include U.S.-based scholars and so we are delighted to be working with Danielle Coombs and Filippo Trevisan. We have also welcomed many new authors to the Election Analysis reports this year, and hope that these collaborations continue.

2020 has been a particularly challenging year for academics, with many of us profoundly affected by the pandemic. Remaining productive in research during this time has been a challenge for many in the sector, and so we were concerned that many scholars would be unable to contribute this time. However, we were delighted with the response to our invitations to contribute, and once again, we are immensely grateful for our contributors’ enthusiasm, commitment and their expertise, which shine through the pages of this report.

On behalf of the editorial team, we would like to recognise the financial and moral support of the Centre Comparative Politics and Media Research at Bournemouth University, and our great colleagues and student community. We are also very grateful for the support of our partners in this project: the APSA Information Technology & Politics Section, the Political Studies Association Media and Politics Group and the IPSA Political Communication Research Committee.

We owe a special debt of gratitude to our outstanding Research Assistant Mirva Villa who also helped produce three of our previous Election Analysis reports and still agreed to join another project – despite the incredible demands we place upon her in a very short period of time. Knowing we could rely on you yet again was crucial!

We are also delighted to be working with three brilliant Graduate Assistants, in Benjamin Simmons, Asvatha (Ash) Babu (American University) and Harrison LeJeune (Kent State), who have helped us in promotion and research for this report.

Finally, a special thanks to our friends and family, in particular: Bec, Avie, Genevieve, Lotta, Emilia, Teresa and Liz.

Additional photo credits

Section 1 – Washington, DC erupts in celebration following the defeat of Donald Trump – USA 312 150348 – Picture by: Ted Eytan

CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

Section 2 – Washington, DC erupts in celebration following the defeat of Donald Trump – USA 312 150289 – Picture by: Ted Eytan

CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

Section 3 – President Donald J. Trump greets supporters during a drive by outside of Walter Reed National Military Medical Center Sunday, Oct. 4, 2020 – Picture by: The White House

Section 4 – Anderson Cooper, CNN broadcast

Section 5 – Democrat Presidential candidate Joe Biden meets and greets attendees at a rally outside his campaign office in Council Bluffs, Iowa – Picture by: Matt Johnson

CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

Section 6 – America Just Told Trump You’re Fired! – Picture by: Thomas Hawk

CC BY-NC 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/

Section 7 – Rudy Giuliani, Four Seasons Total Landscaping, BBC broadcast

Back cover – President Donald J. Trump salutes Marine One from the Blue Room Balcony of the White House Monday, Oct. 5, 2020, following his return from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Picture by: The White House