I am an Assistant Professor in the School of Government and Public Policy at the University of Arizona. I study how institutional rules shape who is represented and what policy gets made, in state legislatures, in Congress and in tribal governments.
My work on American legislatures examines how chamber design, procedure and staffing affect outcomes for groups divided by race, gender and party. My research on Indigenous politics looks at how tribal governments are structured. It asks how that structure shapes relationships within and between tribes and with state and federal governments, and the policies that follow. Most of this research takes a pan-tribal approach, paired with case studies of individual tribal nations. I bring the same lens to elections, studying how the rules that govern voting access shape which communities can participate and, in turn, who is represented.
My research appears in the Journal of Politics, Legislative Studies Quarterly, Political Research Quarterly, Publius, Public Choice and the Election Law Journal, among others. I serve on the editorial boards of Legislative Studies Quarterly and State Politics & Policy Quarterly. You can find more about my publications and ongoing projects here.
Before joining Arizona, I was an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Pittsburgh from 2018 to 2024. I received my M.A. and Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of California, Merced, and my B.A. in Economics from Stanford University. I am a faculty affiliate of the Center for Effective Lawmaking.
My teaching interests include American politics, race politics, gender politics, and quantitative methods. You can find more information about my teaching including my syllabi and teaching materials here.
Research Areas
Legislative Institutions
How rules, procedure, and party organization shape what legislatures do — and who benefits — in state chambers and the U.S. Congress.
Indigenous Politics & Policy
How the structure of Native American tribal governments shapes intra-tribal, inter-tribal, and federal relationships and policy outcomes.
Voting Access & Representation
Who can vote easily, who represents whom, and who staffs the institutions that make law — from county election offices to congressional district offices.
State Policy
How subnational policy choices shape essential services and the incentives states offer.
Recent Work
Debate and Legislative Productivity in US State Legislatures
With Nicholas O. Howard · Legislative Studies Quarterly, 2026 · PDF · Publisher
Measuring Voter Equity at the Local Level
With Joseph Dietrich, Jean Schroedel, and Melissa Rogers · Election Law Journal, 2026 · PDF · Publisher
Lights Out: Political and Economic Determinants of Electricity Shutoffs in the United States
With Srinivas Parinandi and Katherine Sevin · Publius: The Journal of Federalism, 2025 · PDF · Publisher
For Journalists
I comment on state legislatures, Congress and congressional staff, voting access and election administration, and tribal governance and federal Indian policy.