Research

Descriptive Representation

"Descriptive Representation in an Era of Polarization" (conditionally accepted at the Journal of Politics)

Abstract: Studies of descriptive representation find that voters more positively evaluate representatives who share their ascriptive characteristics. I argue that this pattern can be upended when voters develop more positive affect towards outgroups. In the United States, Democrats have increasingly expressed more positive views towards marginalized groups, while Republicans’ attitudes about these groups have not shifted. Under such conditions, my argument predicts that the effect of representatives’ race and gender on constituent evaluations should vary more by constituents’ partisanship than by their own ascriptive characteristics. Applying a difference-in-differences design to 2008-2020 CCES data, I find that Democrats of all backgrounds now approve more highly of Congressmembers from historically marginalized groups, whereas Republicans’ approval is unrelated to Member identity. Democrats also give women and minority representatives leeway to diverge ideologically. These findings demonstrate that polarizing attitudes about race and gender can disrupt classic patterns in how constituents evaluate representatives.

"As Racial Attitudes Go, So Goes Approval: Why White Democrats Favor Representatives of Color," with Anna Mikkelborg (under review)

Abstract: Recent research shows that white Democratic voters have become more approving of politicians of color compared to white politicians in the last ten years. This is surprising, since past research indicates that voters generally prefer representatives who share their own racial background. The mechanisms underpinning this shift are key to understanding its likely durability and its broader implications for racial politics. We evaluate three potential explanations: changing racial attitudes, partisan identity, and that race serves as a cue for politicians’ ideologies. Our evidence suggests changing racial attitudes among white Democrats as the likely mechanism: racial attitudes are strongly associated with these voters’ greater approval of representatives of color at the individual level and over time, while there is little evidence that partisan identity or perceptions of politicians’ ideologies are responsible. These results provide evidence that white Democrats put their racially liberal attitudes into action through support for representatives of color.

Local Politics

"When Do Local Interest Groups Participate in the Housing Entitlement Process?" with Michael Hankinson and Asya Magazinnik (forthcoming at the Journal of Political Institutions and Political Economy)

Abstract: Local governments control a hidden flow of economic goods that never appear on city budgets. Through the housing entitlement process, city officials may condition approval on the benefits developers provide to organized interests. But the politics and policies created by this discretionary review have yet to be studied through the lens of interest group mobilization. We bridge this gap with an analysis of the behavior of construction unions in the housing entitlement process. Using data from 164 U.S. cities, we find that construction union representatives are more likely to attend public meetings to advocate for favorable labor agreements when the expected profitability of new housing developments is high — and thus, when there are more particularistic benefits on the table. While interest group competition within local participatory institutions may signal a robust, pluralist democracy, it also risks driving up housing costs, to the detriment of both organized and unorganized residents.

"Municipality Size and Dimensions of Conflict in Local Politics"

"Local Roots in Local Politics"

"Place-based Attachment and Attitudes Towards Land Use"