Dr. David Richards first became interested in American politics in 1979, when George H.W. Bush was running for president.
“My mom dragged me to hear George Bush, the first, campaigning somewhere — probably in Lynchburg or maybe Richmond,” Richards said. “That would have been the late 1970s, for the 1980 election, when he was still running for president at that point.
“It was early in the primary process and I would have been about 13. It was, of course, interesting to see a lot of people getting excited and hearing and seeing somebody you usually only saw on the news.
“I just realized there was a lot going on that I had not been paying attention to and that kind of helped spark it.”
Fast-forward 40-some years and Richards is an associate professor of international relations and political science at the University of Lynchburg and chair of its political science department. He’s also a sought-after source and political commentator for local and national news outlets.
As Richards describes it, he’s usually called upon to provide “an explanation as to what is going on. The mechanics of things. How does it work when this thing happens? What is the procedure? What’s normal? Not a partisan viewpoint, but an explanation of what’s going on.”
Richards has written political commentaries for U.S. News & World Report, where one of his two op-eds about Vice President Kamala Harris was said to be one of the most-read stories over a three-week period. “That’s what I was told,” he said. “That was kind of interesting to hear.”
He’s been quoted in The Cardinal, the Virginia Mercury, The New York Times, The Washington Post, the U.S. Sun, and other online and print newspapers. Argentine and German newspapers have also reached out to him recently.
In May, Richards was quoted in a U.S. Sun article about Barron Trump — youngest son of former President Donald Trump — being selected as a delegate to the Republican National Convention.
“I’m in regular contact with one of the editors and we talk about politics,” Richards said of the tabloid newspaper. “It’s just a fun situation — not a normal outlet for politics. It’s usually Kim Kardashian or British soccer players. …
“That makes me feel that’s a positive thing. You wouldn’t expect to get any political information there, but they do a pretty good job. I’m pretty impressed with who they get to talk with them.”
A month later, Richards was fact-checking the Associated Press. “On primary night in June of this year, I’m sitting texting a [New York Times] reporter and fact-checking what the AP is reporting about recounts,” he said.
“The AP was reporting that the state would pay for a recount if the margin was 1% and I told the NYT it was half a percent, and I was right. The AP had to correct their story. … So that was pretty cool.”
Locally, Richards has appeared on TV news stations WXFR, WSLS, and WSET, and a local podcast, “Conversations with Andre Whitehead.”
“It’s generally fun and most of the people I talk to are themselves interested in politics,” Richards said. “It’s fun to talk to people who are also interested in it and get excited about election returns or things most people don’t care about.”
On election night, Nov. 5, Richards will appear on WSET’s live broadcast. “Being on WSET on election evening, in the studio, live — that’s always fun because they’re really friendly and it’s nice to be there,” he said. “They’re great people and I think that’s always fun.”
