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.

My research on congressional leadership includes books on party electoral agendas and on the changing structure and roles of House leadership organizations. My earlier work on Congress includes a series of articles on the interaction of party and constituency pressures in the historical House and Senate.  In ongoing research, I am examining media portrayals and public understanding of the Senate filibuster, and I am conducting a mixed archival and quantititative study of how House party leaders and party factions interact in the process of building voting coalitions.