Robert Boatright
Professor, Political Science
Scholarly Interests
Campaign Finance; Congressional Elections; Primary Elections; Political Parties; Interest Groups; Political Discourse
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Professor Boatright teaches courses on American political behavior, political parties, campaigns and elections, interest groups, political participation, and political theory. He has served as a research fellow at the Campaign Finance Institute, as an American Political Science Association Congressional Fellow. He is currently the director of research for the National Institute of Civil Discourse at the University of Arizona. His most recent books include Getting Primaried: The Changing Politics of Congressional Primary Challenges (University of Michigan Press, 2013) and the Handbook of Primary Elections (Routledge, 2018).
Professor Boatright is currently completing a book manuscript on the history of reforms to primary elections during the twentieth century and another on how the concept of political corruption is understood in America today. Other current research interests include comparative campaign finance and the role of ideological appeals in campaigns. He is also the director of the Worcester Campaign Finance Project.
Degrees
- Ph.D., University of Chicago, 1999
- M.A., University of Chicago, 1994
- B.A., Carleton College, 1992
Affiliated Department(s)
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Scholarly and Creative Works
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Public Opinion on Reforming U.S. Primaries
Published in Social Science Quarterly
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2024
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Gender, Germs, and Governors: Political Masculinity and Leadership in the U.S. during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Published in European Journal of Politics and Gender
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2024
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The Roads to Congress 2022
Chapter: The Role of Donald Trump in the 2022 Republican Congressional PrimariesPublished by Palgrave Macmillan
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2024
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Reform and Retrenchment: Why the Direct Primary Failed to Change American Politics
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2024
Oxford University Press
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Campaign Finance and Party Systems in Nonpartisan Municipal Elections
Urban Affairs Association Annual Meeting
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Nashville, TN
April
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2023
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Financing the 2020 Election
Chapter: Political and Policy Implications following the 2020 ElectionPublished by Brookings Institution Press
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2023
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Campaign Finance, Election Systems, and Extremism
International Political Science Association Research Council on Political Finance and Corruption
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Prague, Czech Republic
July
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2022
Sponsored by International Political Science Association Research Council on Political Finance and Corruption
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Campaign Finance in Mid-Sized Cities, 2005-2021
Midwest Political Science Association
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Chicago, IL
April
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2022
Sponsored by Midwest Political Science Association
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The State of the Parties
Chapter: Congressional Primary Challenges and the Health of the PartiesPublished by Rowman and Littlefield
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2022
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Polarization and Political Party Factions in the 2020 Election
Chapter: What do the 2020 Congressional Primaries Tell us About the Direction of the Democratic Party?Published by Lexington Press
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2022
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Education, Inclusion, and Justice: International Association for Philosophy of Law and Social Philosophy edited volume
Chapter: Three Arguments for IncivilityPublished by Springer
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2022
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Gender, Germs, and Governors: Political Masculinity and Leadership in the U.S. during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Political Masculinities as an Analytical Category
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Netherlands
June 18
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2021
Sponsored by Research Network for Political Masculinities through the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities and Social Sciences (NIAS)
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What do the 2020 Congressional Primaries Tell us About the Direction of the Democratic and Republican Parties?
New Hampshire Institute of Politics Conference on the 2020 Election
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Zoom, but it was supposed be in Manchester, NH
March
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2021
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Factional Conflict and Independent Expenditures in the 2018 Democratic House Primaries
Published in Congress & the Presidency
March
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2021
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Vol. 48
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Issue #1
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Outside Looking In: Lobbyists' Views on Civil Discourse in U.S. State Legislatures
Chapter: Civility Building Efforts in U.S. State LegislaturesPublished by Washington State University Press
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2021
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Populism and Corruption: The Other Side of the Coin
Chapter: Who Pays for Populism?Published by Edward Elgar
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2021
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Primary Election Timing and Voter Turnout
Published in Election Law Journal
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2020
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Vol. 19
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Issue #4
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Ranked Choice Voting
2020 Massachusetts Policy Priorities Symposium, Scholars Strategy Network
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Suffolk University, Boston, MA, March 2.
Spring
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2020
Sponsored by Scholars Strategy Network
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More than the Presidency: Making Sense of the Other Choices on the Ballot
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2020
American Political Science Association "Raise the Vote" Series
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Democracy, Populism, and Truth
Chapter: Corruption, Populism, and SlothPublished by Springer
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2020
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Mapping Populism
Chapter: Populist Corruption TalkPublished by Routledge
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2020
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Campaigns on the Cutting Edge, 4th ed.
Chapter: Fundraising: the New RulesPublished by Sage / Congressional Quarterly
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2020
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Factional Conflict and Independent Expenditures in the 2018 Democratic House Primaries
Published in Congress and the Presidency
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2020
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Trumping Politics as Usual: Masculinity, Misogyny, and the 2016 Elections
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2020
Oxford University Press
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Book Review of Aaron S. King, Unfolding Ambition in Senate Primary Elections
Perspectives on Politics
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2019
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Vol. 17
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Issue #4
Perspectives on Politics
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The State of Political Discourse in America 2019
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2019
National Institute for Civil Discourse
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University of Arizona
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Tucson, AZ
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Routledge Handbook of Primary Elections
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2018
Routledge
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The Deregulatory Moment? A Comparative Perspective on Changing Campaign Finance Laws
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2016
University of Michigan Press
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Congressional Primary Elections
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2014
Routledge
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Getting Primaried: The Changing Politics of Congressional Primary Challenges
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2013
University of Michigan Press
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Interest Groups and Campaign Finance Reform in the United States and Canada
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2011
University of Michigan Press
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Amicus Brief, Lieu v. Federal Election Commission
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Awards & Grants
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The Effect of Alaska's Top 4 / RCV System on Campaign Finance
Unite America
Jan. 1, 2023 - Dec. 31, 2023
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Donor Networks and Ranked Choice Voting in Massachusetts Municipal Elections
Skoll Foundation, Working Group on Political Extremism subgrant
Apr. 1, 2022 - Dec. 31, 2022
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American Corruption Talk
University of Arizona Foundation
Jun. 1, 2020 - May. 15, 2021
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Congressional Primary Timing
William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
Apr. 1, 2014 - Apr. 1, 2017
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