Princeton University

Specialization:

Research and Teaching Interests: American Politics; Gender, Race, Ethnicity, and Inequality in Politics; Political Parties and Organizations; Urban and Local Politics; Political Science Methods and Survey Research Methods; Public Opinion and Political Participation; Campaigns and Elections

B.S. Political Science and Education, Vanderbilt University, 2004; M.A. Politics, Princeton University, 2006; Ph.D. Politics, Princeton University, 2010 (expected)

Thesis Title: Local Parties, Local Candidates, and Women's Representation: How County Parties Affect Who Runs for and Wins Political Office

Committee: Larry Bartels, Tali Mendelberg, Jessica Trounstine, Amy Lerman

Abstract: Why do women remain underrepresented at every level of American political office? Do political parties perpetuate this inequality or do they help advance equality of representation? These questions motivate my analysis of the relationship between party strength and women's political representation. To evaluate this relationship, I designed and fielded an original nationwide survey of over 5,000 county party chairpersons, an original collection of political and demographic data on over 16,000 county candidates, and in-depth interviews with local and state party officials in several states. These data reveal substantial variation in both the structure and activity of local parties and the traits and beliefs of party leaders regarding candidate diversity and the party's role in elections. I test how these factors jointly affect women's emergence as candidates and find support for my theory that the behavior and beliefs of party actors modify how party structure and institutional strength affect women's representation. Specifically, I find that stronger party organizations are more likely to run female candidates, but that this effect is conditioned by the gender of party leaders and by party leader beliefs about women candidates. My results demonstrate that local parties and their leaders fundamentally affect who runs for and holds political office, and that it is critical to consider institutions together with the behavior of political actors in order to explain political phenomena.

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Link to: Personal Web site