Welcome

I am an Associate Professor and Department Head of Kansas State University's Department of Political Science, University Distinguished Teaching Scholar, and the Director of the Political Science Undergraduate Internship Program.

A native of Colorado, I got my B.A. in Political Science from the University of Colorado (2006), and my Ph.D from Indiana University (2012).

I use technically sophisticated methods such as dimensional scaling, text analysis, and machine learning to answer broad questions about the representational relationship between constituents and their elected officials, and American institutions - especially Congress and state legislatures.   My articles have appeared in journals like Legislative Studies Quarterly, Political Research Quarterly, and American Politics Research.  

I teach a variety of courses on American politics including: Introduction to U.S. Politics, the American Presidency, the Legislative Process, Political Participation, State and Local Government, and Research Methods.  I'm a dedicated teacher, and my research on the use of experiential learning in the classroom has appeared in PS: Political Science and Politics.    

You can order a copy of my book, co-authored with Jordan Ragusa: Congress in Reverse: Repeals from Reconstruction to the Present, published at University of Chicago Press here.  We show that while Congress often passes laws in a bipartisan way, its repealing behavior is overwhelmingly partisan. 

I was a part of the NSF supported Federalism Data Analytics and Statistics Hub (F-DASH) team.

You can download a copy of my CV here

You can find me on Google Scholar here