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Research

Research on American political institutions, congressional politics, and democratic governance. My work examines how institutional design shapes political behavior and policy outcomes.

Elections and Representation in American Municipal Administration: Elite Survey Evidence from Five New England States

Local Government

Electoral Accountability

Institutional Design

Democratic Accountability

Survey Research

Elected municipal clerks are more responsive to constituents and more oriented toward public service than appointed ones. However, selection method has limited impact on ideological or policy preferences.

Political Research Quarterly

Rising Seas, Rising Concerns: How Climate Change Vulnerability Shapes Opinions Towards Policy

Public Policy

Public Opinion

Geographic Context

Electoral Politics

Survey Research

People who live in coastal communities vulnerable to sea-level rise are more likely to support climate mitigation policies, particularly if they are deeply rooted in their communities. The effect is not strongest among those with the most to lose financially, but among those most tied to place.

Environmental Politics

Guardians at the Gates: Poll Worker Retention in a Challenging Election Environment

Election Administration

Elite Interviews

Democratic Accountability

Institutional Design

Local Government

Local election officials often see themselves as nonpartisan

Election Law Journal

The Urban-Rural Divide and Residential Contentment as Antecedents of Political Ideology

Political Geography

Geographic Context

Public Opinion

Polarization

Rural residents report higher levels of neighborhood attachment than urban residents. This variation in place attachment contributes significantly to ideological divides, with contentment predicting conservatism and dissatisfaction predicting liberalism.

Democratic Values and Support for Executive Power

Presidential Power

Democratic Accountability

Comparative Politics

Survey Research

Normative Theory

Citizens with stronger commitments to democracy consistently express less support for executive power across multiple measures and contexts. While supporters of incumbent presidents favor expanded executive authority, democratic values independently constrain support for executive overreach, suggesting mass publics can serve as a “guardrail” against democratic erosion.

Presidential Studies Quarterly

Reconsidering Bellwether Locations in U.S. Presidential Elections

Political Geography

Polarization

County-Level Analysis

Electoral Politics

Quantitative Methods

The number of reliable bellwether counties has declined significantly in the era of geographic polarization. Even counties with long records of picking winners have recently lost that predictive power.

Presidential Studies Quarterly

Pass the Buck or the Buck Stops Here? The Public Costs of Claiming and Deflecting Blame in Managing Crises

Crisis Management

Political Communication

Research Methods

Presidential Accountability

Public Opinion

Executives who claim responsibility during a crisis are viewed more favorably than those who deflect blame. Blame claiming boosts perceptions of leadership and honesty, even when the crisis is negative.

Journal of Public Policy

Crime and Presidential Accountability: A Case of Racially Conditioned Issue Ownership

Presidential Accountability

Public Opinion

Geographic Context

Survey Research

Quantitative Methods

Local crime rates influence public opinion in complex ways. Higher violent crime correlates with greater support for punitive measures, but people’s personal experience and political predispositions shape how they interpret crime trends.

Public Opinion Quarterly

No Blank Check: The Origins and Consequences of Public Antipathy towards Presidential Power

Presidential Power

Public Opinion

Democratic Accountability

Research Methods

Partisanship

The American public does not offer presidents a ‘blank check’ to act unilaterally. Instead, support for presidential power is conditional–-shaped by partisanship, trust in government, the policy domain, and the political context. Even partisans often resist expansions of power when used in disfavored ways, suggesting the presence of principled constraints in public opinion.

Cambridge University Press

Unilateral Inaction: Congressional Gridlock, Interbranch Conflict, and Public Evaluations of Executive Power

Presidential Power

Legislative Politics

Democratic Accountability

Institutional Constraints

Quantitative Methods

Presidents frequently receive little or no electoral benefit from policy successes, especially when those policies are complex or lack visibility. Voters often fail to connect improved outcomes with presidential action.

Legislative Studies Quarterly

Partisanship, Trump, and the Normative Implications of Presidential Particularism: A Response to Pasachoff’s Executive Branch Control of Federal Grants

Presidential Particularism

Presidential Power

Democratic Accountability

Normative Theory

Legal Scholarship

The authors defend and extend their theory of presidential particularism in response to critique. They argue that particularistic policymaking is a persistent and central feature of executive governance, not a marginal or exceptional behavior.

Ohio State Law Journal Online

Electoral Geography, Political Behavior and Public Opinion

Political Geography

Public Opinion

Electoral Politics

Geographic Context

Literature Review

Geographic context systematically influences political attitudes and behaviors, beyond individual traits. Local composition, proximity to others, and community characteristics are central to understanding public opinion and electoral outcomes.

Edward Elgar Publishing

Partisanship, Economic Assessments, and Presidential Accountability

Presidential Accountability

Partisanship

Economic Voting

Electoral Politics

Public Opinion

Retrospective Voting

Research on American political institutions and democratic governance.

American Journal of Political Science

Public Opinion and Public Support in Crisis Management

Crisis Management

Presidential Power

Public Opinion

Institutional Constraints

Democratic Accountability

Presidents are more likely to act unilaterally during national crises, especially when the public demands swift action and institutional constraints are relaxed. The likelihood of unilateral action increases in response to crises in both foreign and domestic policy domains.

Oxford University Press

Polling Place Quality and Access

Election Administration

Field Research

Electoral Politics

Democratic Accountability

Quantitative Methods

Polling places across the United States in the 2016 election generally exhibited high quality. Variation in polling place access, facilities, and practices was largely a function of county and state-level factors, not voter demographics.

Palgrave Macmillan

Defining Racial and Ethnic Context with Geolocation Data

Research Methods

Survey Research

Geographic Context

Political Geography

Quantitative Methods

Public support for executive orders depends heavily on partisan alignment. When presidents use unilateral tools, co-partisans reward them and out-partisans punish them–-regardless of the issue or justification.

Political Science Research and Methods

Waiting to Vote in the 2016 Presidential Election: Evidence from a Multi-Campus Study

Election Administration

Electoral Politics

Survey Research

Democratic Accountability

Field Research

Long lines at polling places reduce voter confidence in the fairness and efficiency of elections. These effects are strongest among voters who experience delays and among historically marginalized groups.

Political Research Quarterly

Local Unemployment and Voting for President: Uncovering Causal Mechanisms

Economic Voting

Geographic Context

Electoral Politics

County-Level Analysis

Quantitative Methods

Research on American political institutions and democratic governance.

Political Behavior

The Urban-Rural Gulf in American Political Behavior

Political Geography

Polarization

Electoral Politics

Geographic Context

Research on American political institutions and democratic governance.

Political Behavior

Who Benefits from the Party Organization? Evidence from Republican House Members’ Attendance at Caucus Meetings

Party Organization

Legislative Politics

Elite Interviews

Electoral Politics

Partisanship

Members who are party leaders or electorally vulnerable are more likely to attend caucus meetings, while those with seniority or who vote less with their party are less likely to do so. Attendance is driven by the pursuit of private benefits such as information and agenda influence.

Legislative Studies Quarterly

The Public Cost of Unilateral Action

Presidential Power

Institutional Constraints

Separation Of Powers

Formal Theory

Quantitative Methods

Legal and political constraints significantly reduce the likelihood that presidents will act unilaterally. Presidents are more likely to issue executive orders when courts and Congress are less likely to oppose them, indicating that constraints are binding, not merely symbolic.

American Journal of Political Science

U.S. Presidential Campaigns and Their Impact

Electoral Politics

Literature Review

Research on American political institutions and democratic governance.

Oxford University Press

Pedagogical Value of Polling Place Observation By Students

Election Administration

Field Research

Pedagogy

Civic Engagement

Research Methods

Research on American political institutions and democratic governance.

PS: Political Science & Politics

The Contextual Determinants of Support for Presidential Power

Presidential Power

Research Methods

Public Opinion

Institutional Design

Democratic Accountability

Public attitudes toward unilateral presidential power are surprisingly consistent and largely unaffected by contextual framing–-except in explicitly political contexts. Even with different presidents or justifications, support for unilateral action remains low and stable.

Presidential Studies Quarterly

Attitudes toward Delegation to Presidential Commissions

Presidential Power

Public Opinion

Research Methods

Institutional Design

Democratic Accountability

There is no significant difference in public approval between direct presidential action and delegation to a commission. The public also sees no difference in the perceived effectiveness of policies formed through these two avenues.

Presidential Studies Quarterly

Learning from Place in the Era of Geolocation

Research Methods

Survey Research

Geographic Context

Political Geography

Quantitative Methods

Incorporating geolocation data allows researchers to connect individual survey responses to detailed information about respondents’ communities. This linkage reveals that local context significantly shapes political attitudes, especially on issues like immigration and economic policy.

Yale University Press

All the President’s Senators: Presidential Co-Partisans and the Allocation of Federal Grants

Distributive Politics

Presidential Particularism

Partisanship

Intergovernmental Relations

Quantitative Methods

Research on American political institutions and democratic governance.

Legislative Studies Quarterly

Unilateral Powers, Public Opinion, and the Presidency

Presidential Power

Public Opinion

Institutional Design

Democratic Accountability

Quantitative Methods

Research on American political institutions and democratic governance.

Journal of Politics

The Politics of Disaster Relief

Disaster Politics

Electoral Politics

Literature Review

Democratic Accountability

Public Policy

Citizens tend to reward incumbents for disaster relief spending and punish them for slow or ineffective responses, regardless of actual preparedness. Disasters also exacerbate inequalities in political attention and resource allocation.

John Wiley & Sons, Inc

The Particularistic President: Executive Branch Politics and Political Inequality

Presidential Particularism

Distributive Politics

Presidential Power

Democratic Accountability

Quantitative Methods

Presidents consistently behave in a particularistic manner, directing federal spending and administrative attention to swing states and core partisan areas. Rather than acting as neutral national leaders, they exploit executive control over the bureaucracy to serve political goals.

Cambridge University Press

Presidential Particularism in Disaster Declarations and Military Base Closures

Presidential Particularism

Disaster Politics

Partisanship

Intergovernmental Relations

County-Level Analysis

Presidents disproportionately direct federal aid to counties with co-partisan governors, particularly during election years. This pattern holds across both Democratic and Republican administrations, suggesting a systematic partisan logic in executive resource allocation.

Presidential Studies Quarterly

Public Opinion toward Presidential Power

Presidential Power

Public Opinion

Institutional Constraints

Democratic Accountability

Formal Theory

Presidents are more likely to act unilaterally when public support is high and when institutional checks–-such as congressional opposition–-are weak or fragmented. The study finds that political conditions, not legal constraints, are the dominant factors in presidential decision-making.

Presidential Studies Quarterly

Presidential Particularism and Divide-the-Dollar Politics

Presidential Particularism

Distributive Politics

Swing States

County-Level Analysis

Quantitative Methods

Presidents act particularistically, directing disproportionate federal resources to counties in swing states and to core partisan constituencies, especially during reelection campaigns. They prioritize electoral advantage over national interest.

American Political Science Review

The Electoral College and Presidential Particularism

Electoral Politics

Swing States

Democratic Accountability

Institutional Design

The Electoral College incentivizes campaigns to focus disproportionately on swing states and overlook safe states, leading to unequal representation and resource allocation. The system magnifies the influence of a small number of voters in competitive areas.

Boston University Law Review

Responsive Partisanship: Public Support for the Clinton and Obama Health Care Plans

Public Policy

Electoral Accountability

State Politics

Quantitative Methods

Retrospective Voting

Governors receive credit or blame for Medicaid expansion decisions. Voters in states that expanded Medicaid were more likely to support incumbent governors, especially when they perceived personal or community benefits.

Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law

Taking the Leap: Voting, Rhetoric, and the Determinants of Electoral Reform

Legislative Politics

Electoral Politics

Research Methods

Public Opinion

Quantitative Methods

People are more supportive of disaster aid when it is framed as universal and not targeted toward specific groups. This reflects a general preference for broad-based government programs over particularistic ones.

Legislative Studies Quarterly

Driving Support: Workers, PACs, and Congressional Support of the Auto Industry

Legislative Politics

Interest Groups

Quantitative Methods

Distributive Politics

Electoral Politics

Legislators are more likely to support particularistic legislation benefiting the auto industry when their districts contain more auto workers, but this effect diminishes on broader or more ideologically contested legislation.

Business and Politics

Review of The Unheavenly Chorus: Unequal Political Voice and the Broken Promise of Democracy by Kay Lehman Schlozman, Sidney Verba, and Henry E. Brady

Book Review

Electoral Politics

Democratic Accountability

Public Opinion

Research on American political institutions and democratic governance.

Ecologies of Unease: Geographic Context and National Economic Evaluations

Economic Voting

Geographic Context

Electoral Politics

County-Level Analysis

Quantitative Methods

Local economic indicators–-especially foreclosures, unemployment, and gas prices–-significantly influence how political independents evaluate national economic performance. These effects are particularly strong among less partisan and less politically informed voters.

Political Behavior

Using Recounts to Measure the Accuracy of Vote Tabulations: Evidence from New Hampshire Elections 1946-2002

Election Administration

Election Integrity

Quantitative Methods

Optical scanning machines demonstrate superior accuracy compared to hand-counted paper ballots. The tabulation error rate for optically scanned ballots was approximately 0.56%, compared to 0.87% for hand-counted paper ballots (excluding outliers). This represents roughly a 50% improvement in tabulation accuracy with machine counting.

Palgrave Macmillan

The Influence of Federal Spending on Presidential Elections

Distributive Politics

Electoral Politics

County-Level Analysis

Swing States

Retrospective Voting

Yes. Voters are more likely to support incumbent presidents (or their party’s nominee) when federal spending in their counties increases. The effect is strongest in battleground states and among liberal and moderate voters, especially when congressional co-partisanship clarifies partisan responsibility.

American Political Science Review

Turning Out the Base or Appealing to the Periphery? An Analysis of County-Level Candidate Appearances in the 2008 Presidential Campaign

Electoral Politics

Political Geography

Swing States

County-Level Analysis

In 2008, McCain-Palin pursued a base strategy, campaigning in Republican strongholds, while Obama-Biden used a peripheral strategy focused on high-growth, less partisan counties. These choices reflect divergent campaign strategies with implications for electoral outreach.

American Politics Research

Political Disaster: Unilateral Powers, Electoral Incentives, and Presidential Disaster Declarations

Disaster Politics

Presidential Power

Swing States

Presidential Accountability

Quantitative Methods

Presidents are significantly more likely to issue disaster declarations to competitive states. These actions bring electoral rewards: a single declaration can yield more than a one-point gain in statewide vote share.

Journal of Politics

The Job Market’s First Steps: Using Research Tools to Simplify the Process

Presidential Accountability

Economic Voting

Partisanship

Research Methods

Political Communication

Presidents often try to take credit for new jobs, but their success depends on partisan alignment and media coverage. Co-partisans are more likely to believe presidential claims, while out-partisans are skeptical or unaffected.

PS: Political Science and Politics

Make it Rain? Retrospection and the Attentive Electorate in the Context of Natural Disasters

Disaster Politics

Presidential Accountability

Retrospective Voting

County-Level Analysis

Distributive Politics

Presidents gain electoral support in counties that receive disaster declarations and federal assistance, but only when the response is timely and well-publicized. Voters appear to reward presidents for responsiveness, not just for objective conditions.

American Journal of Political Science

Review of The State of Disunion: Regional Sources of Modern American Partisanship by Nicole Mellow

Book Review

Political Geography

Partisanship

Polarization

Research on American political institutions and democratic governance.

Political Science Quarterly

A Reassessment of `The Methods behind the Madness: Presidential Electoral College Strategies, 1988–1996’

Electoral Politics

Quantitative Methods

Research on American political institutions and democratic governance.

Journal of Politics

A Reassessment of Presidential Campaign Strategy Formation and Candidate Resource Allocation

Electoral Politics

Institutional Design

Normative Theory

Democratic Accountability

The authors argue for a broader reassessment of presidential effectiveness that includes institutional leadership, long-term policy change, and normative considerations. They caution against over-reliance on popularity or legislative tallies as measures of presidential success.