I am a Professor of Political Science at Bucknell University. My research and teaching is focused primarily on American political institutions, with an emphasis on the U.S. Congress. In my work on Congress, I am interested broadly in how parties, leadership, and procedure affect representation.
In my recent book, The Origins and Consequences of Congressional Party Election Agendas (Cambridge Elements), I study the House leadership’s electoral agendas, such as the Republicans’ “Contract with America.” I link the development of and action on these agendas, showing the representational implications of nationalized agenda efforts.
In Leadership Organizations in the House of Representatives: Party Participation and Partisan Politics (Michigan), I used archival and quantitative evidence to trace the ways that a polarizing and electorally competitive environment has changed how party organizations serve leadership and member goals. My earlier work on Congress also includes a series of articles on the interaction of party and constituency pressures in the historical House and Senate.
In current research, I am studying how the media portrays congressional process and how those portrayals shape public perceptions, with a focus on the Senate filibuster. Another current project examines how House party leaders manage and use intraparty groups in building voting coalitions.
At Bucknell, I teach courses on Congress, the presidency, and the courts, as well as senior seminars on political polarization and on legislative research. I have received the Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching, and from 2017-2021, I served as the chair of Bucknell’s Department of Political Science.