Recruiting candidates with different skill sets is important. But parties should be careful not to confuse electoral popularity with the skills required to govern. The traits that help build a broader tent may not translate cleanly into the work of actually legislating. www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

“Just collect more data” is one of the most common responses to uncertainty in quantitative research. But in a lot of social science, that advice is impossible—or even misleading. Our new working paper asks: when has a study reached its information limit? Check it out here: osf.io/preprints/so...

“Just collect more data” is one of the most common responses to uncertainty in quantitative research. But in a lot of social science, that advice is impossible—or even misleading. Our new working paper asks: when has a study reached its information limit? Check it out here: osf.io/preprints/so...

Largely agree, huge downstream affects on bipartisanship (Caveat: findings from House, not the Senate) www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Very excited that my paper with @colinrcase.bsky.social has been conditionally accepted at the AJPS!! Using our campaignview.org data, we produce measures for candidates' left-right positioning across six salient issue areas Big takeaways below ⬇️ Check it out early here 🔗: osf.io/preprints/so...

Very excited that my paper with @colinrcase.bsky.social has been conditionally accepted at the AJPS!! Using our campaignview.org data, we produce measures for candidates' left-right positioning across six salient issue areas Big takeaways below ⬇️ Check it out early here 🔗: osf.io/preprints/so...

Hi all. Please consider supporting my colleague Mike Hoffman following the tragic loss of his wife. Like Mike, Kathy was unfailingly kind. Mike and his kids can use all the support we can provide during this time. www.gofundme.com/f/support-fo...

Apparently, I’m actually *in* the NYT (thanks to a friend for the heads up) --- always cool to see research go beyond academia!

🚨 JOB ALERT 🚨 We're hiring a Teaching Assistant Professor in Comparative Politics! Come join a great department: unc.peopleadmin.com/postings/312... I'm on the committee, so send any questions my way. #polisky #academicjobs

So proud to be a part of this intellectual community research.nd.edu/news-and-eve...

Thrilled to share that my paper with @judgelord.bsky.social and Justin Grimmer:"How shifting priorities and capacity affect policy work and constituency service: Evidence from a census of legislator requests to U.S. federal agencies" is out at the AJPS!

Another great postdoc opportunity at Notre Dame! We’re seeking a scholar of American racial & ethnic politics to join our fantastic and growing postdoc cohort Major upside: the opportunity to interview with our poli sci dept for conversion to a tenure-track line apply.interfolio.com/179415

It's not just Trump --- state legislators who actively and openly undermined free and fair elections faced spotty accountability (at best) in the wake of their physical participation in the Jan 6th insurrection www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Another great postdoc opportunity at Notre Dame! We’re seeking a scholar of American racial & ethnic politics to join our fantastic and growing postdoc cohort Major upside: the opportunity to interview with our poli sci dept for conversion to a tenure-track line apply.interfolio.com/179415

On Bluesky, you often see commentary on and jokes about clips from White House Daily Briefings--but have you considered *why* the White House does them? And to what end? I (with @benjaminsnoble.bsky.social and Erin Rossiter) investigate in a new paper 1/N www.davidryanmiller.com/files/Presid...

‼️ New working paper ‼️ We find bipartisan appeals credibly signal policymaking intentions—on an issue-by-issue basis We show how and why bipartisan lawmaking persists amid congressional conflict: progress often comes through issue-specific pathways rather than broad consensus between Ds and Rs 🧵👇

So excited that my book with @allisoncarnegie.bsky.social, Global Governance Under Fire: How International Organizations Resist the Populist Wave, will be published with @princetonupress.bsky.social on January 27, 2026. You can pre-order the book now for 30% off with the code P329 at the below link!

‼️ New working paper ‼️ We find bipartisan appeals credibly signal policymaking intentions—on an issue-by-issue basis We show how and why bipartisan lawmaking persists amid congressional conflict: progress often comes through issue-specific pathways rather than broad consensus between Ds and Rs 🧵👇

Today I am thankful for the SPPQ editorial team! I created a simulated social media environment in Qualtrics and found that individuals’ political attitudes can change based on state legislators’ social media posts. A dissertation chapter and the most fun I’ve had working in a project so far.

#OpenAccess from State Politics & Policy Quarterly - Is It Worth Posting? Testing the Influence of State Legislators in Simulated Social Media - https://cup.org/4imtUes - @ahemmen.bsky.social#OpenAccess #FirstView

Congratulations to Notre Dame grad student Abigail Hemmen @ahemmen.bsky.social on her new paper (and JMP) in SPPQ. She’s on the market, folks! cc @rooneyinstitute.bsky.social

NEW - The Consequences of Elite Action Against Elections - https://cup.org/3K5I3Aa - @rachelporter.bsky.social, Jeffrey J. Harden, Emily Anderson, Géssica de Freitas, Mackenzie R. Dobson, @ahemmen.bsky.social & Emma Schroeder #OpenAccess

Congratulations to the RPL Lab on their BJPS publication, supported by the Rooney Institute! The study examines how state legislators were held accountable for actions challenging the 2020 election, finding only Jan. 6 participation led to consequences. doi.org/10.1017/S000...

"The Consequences of Elite Action Against Elections" is now in print at BJPS (@bjpols.bsky.social) doi.org/10.1017/S000....

Political inexperience in Congress has measurable effects on legislative outcomes. Our research finds that when districts elect political newcomers over career politicians, congressional dysfunction tends to increase. New explainer of our PNAS study: theconversation.com/amateur-hour...

Amateur hour in Congress: How political newcomers fuel gridlock and government shutdowns buff.ly/p9jff1L

Amateur politicians contribute to legislative dysfunction. Great post and research from my colleague @rachelporter.bsky.social!

Political inexperience in Congress has measurable effects on legislative outcomes. Our research finds that when districts elect political newcomers over career politicians, congressional dysfunction tends to increase. New explainer of our PNAS study: theconversation.com/amateur-hour...

Calm before the storm! Today is the day: the inaugural IU Center on American Politics Conference. Speakers: Mike Wagner, Marc Hetherington, Josh McCrain, myself, Julia Azari, Rachel Lienesch, Rachel Porter, Sean Westwood. Follow this thread for key points from talks. 🧵

Applications are due soon for our postdoctoral / visiting student position in representation and legislative studies! We will begin reviewing files next week! Please apply (or encourage your students to apply) apply.interfolio.com/175219

Since 2018, Republican candidates have completely erased a massive Democratic edge in emphasizing education issues.

I agree with this --- CampaignView (campaignview.org) data for 2024 should be released in the next few weeks, but across select issues, we find modest movement left by House Dem candidates (at the issue level) in recent years. Both parties moved to the extreme on energy issues (1/2 sd).

I haven't spent a ton of time working through this, but it draws heavily on national party insights to make recommendations for Dem candidates... who are already doing these things? Over three-quarters of Ds discuss economics, healthcare etc.... campaignview.org www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Important thread on the "aren't Dems already doing the things you're telling them to do" angle

I haven't spent a ton of time working through this, but it draws heavily on national party insights to make recommendations for Dem candidates... who are already doing these things? Over three-quarters of Ds discuss economics, healthcare etc.... campaignview.org www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Look. It would be great if there was one simple trick for winning elections. But 'just be more moderate' isn't it. In fact, you can use the NYT's exact method to 'prove' a 'Progressive Advantage' of +1.4 pts. This piece shows what's really going on: funded candidates do better than unfunded ones.

Every cycle, we relearn the same lesson: candidates without governing experience can become liabilities fast onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.... www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Congratulations to Rachel Porter, Jeff Harden, and Mackenzie Dobson on their new publication in PNAS! Their article, "Electing amateur politicians reduces cross-party collaboration," stems from research conducted in the Representation and Politics in Legislatures Lab. www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Currently in FirstView: In “Balancing Precision and Retention in Experimental Design,” @gustavodiaz.org and Erin Rossiter study how experimental design choices can increase precision when estimating treatment effects. Specifically, they examine block-randomized and pre-post designs.

👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽

Great thread. One of the reasons political scientists typically don't like term limits.

Just published at PNAS (@pnas.org): “Electing amateur politicians reduces cross-party collaboration” We show that districts electing first-time members of the U.S. House experience substantial declines in bipartisan representation in the subsequent Congress. 🧵1/4

These postdoctoral positions are made possible by an incredible $55 million gift from Francis & Kathleen Rooney to support Notre Dame’s new institute focused on democracy research and education 🔗 al.nd.edu/news/latest-...

The Rooney Democracy Institute at Notre Dame is seeking a postdoc or visiting PhD student in legislative institutions and/or representation, under the direction of Jim Curry, Jeff Harden, and Rachel Porter (@rachelporter.bsky.social) Applications due November 15th: apply.interfolio.com/175219

🚨 Call for PostDoc or Visiting PhD Student 🚨 apply.interfolio.com/175219 We're seeking an American Politics scholar of leg. institutions or representation, under the direction of Jim Curry, Jeff Harden, and Rachel Porter (me!), affiliated with our Representation and Politics in Legislatures Lab

Are you into voters/parties/ideology/elections/administrative data? Then we have good news!✨ 🦈 Our first session of Fall 2025 is tomorrow 10/1 at 1 PM ET/10 AM PT 🦈 We'll have 2 great papers on 🗳️ Voting & Elections 🗳️ from Pei-Hsun Hsieh (UPenn) and Graham Straus (UCLA)

We're hiring at UNC Political Science! Tenure Track Assistant Professor in Methods (Deadline Oct 24) unc.peopleadmin.com/postings/307... #polisky #psjobs #poliscijobs

I’m on the committee for this search and am happy to answer questions as well. Come join us at ND! ☘️

FirstView day for my PSRM article, “Presidential Negative Partisanship.” 🥳 I show presidents attack the opposition most (not persuade) when legislating is least likely to succeed—and those attacks mobilize their own side. cambridge.org/core/journal... Read on for the 🧵 version...

As a part of this project, I am committed to estimating and sharing WEB Scores for future congressional elections online for other researchers interested in campaign positioning (github.com/crcase/WEB-S...). WEB Scores for 2024 should be posted in the next few weeks (7/8)