“When we look back, I think the morals and ethics will be pretty clear. There is an opportunity to say this is where we stand and what we represent. … That said, being on the right side of history is not always a winning strategy in the short term,” said Mara Cecilia Ostfeld, U-M assistant professor of political science, whose research (The New White Flight?: The Effects of Political Appeals to Latinos on White Democrats) suggests the current racial realignment along party lines is akin to white voter flight from the Democratic Party after it championed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Professor Ostfeld's research broadly focuses on the relationship between race, media and political attitudes.