We want to give our readers stories during the 2024 election campaign season that focus on the stakes of the election and not the horse race, and that explain crucial concepts and history behind how elections and democracy work – or don’t work.

We’ll be bringing you stories by a range of scholars, of course, from historians to demographers, legal experts and political scientists. Among them: Charlie Hunt, an expert on Congress, elections and political representation, at Boise State University. Hunt is writing a series of articles for us, accompanied by videos, that step back from the daily headlines and aim to help readers understand everything from the “largely unquestioned influence” of Iowa and New Hampshire on the race for president to this week’s dispatch, which looks at the idea of politicians’ home-field advantage and how that could help Nikki Haley in the upcoming South Carolina primary on Feb. 24.

Haley is banking on a good showing in her home state. But polls put her behind Trump. Hunt says a review of historical data shows “in the history of the modern presidential primary, since 1972, there has not been a single eventual nominee from either party who did not win their home state.”

“In this sense,” Hunt says, “Haley winning the nomination without her home state would be literally unprecedented.”

Stay tuned for more of Charlie Hunt when he tackles questions like “Could a third-party candidate really win the presidency?” and “Do lobbyist donations change votes in Congress?” And I moderated a fascinating online discussion yesterday with Charlie and Prof. Stefanie Lindquist. You can watch it on YouTube if you missed it.