Robert G. Boatright is Professor of Political Science at Clark University and the Director of Research for the National Institute for Civil Discourse at the University of Arizona. His research focuses on the effects of campaign and election laws on the behavior of politicians and interest groups, with a particular emphasis on primary elections and campaign finance. He is the author or editor of several books, including Reform and Retrenchment: A Century of Efforts to Fix Primary Elections (Oxford University Press, 2024); The Deregulatory Moment? A Comparative Perspective on Changing Campaign Finance Laws (University of Michigan Press, 2016); Getting Primaried: The Causes and Consequences of Congressional Primary Challenges (University of Michigan Press, 2013); and Interest Groups and Campaign Finance Reform in the United States and Canada (University of Michigan Press, 2011). He has served or is serving on many different task forces studying political reform, campaign finance, and primary elections, including the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Task Force on Campaign Finance, the Campaign Finance Institute’s advisory board, and the Skoll Foundation Task Force on American Electoral Reform.
Robert Boatright
Professor, Political Science
- About
- Scholarly and creative works
- Awards and grant
Degrees
- Ph.D. in , University of Chicago, 1999
- M.A. in , University of Chicago, 1994
- B.A. in , Carleton College, 1992
Affiliated Department
Scholarly and creative works
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Electoral Reform in the United States: Proposals for Combating Polarization and Extremism
Chapter: Primary ElectionsPublished by Lynne Reinner Publishers2025 -
Nonpartisan Primaries, Open Primaries, and Voter Turnout
Published in Journal of Political Institutions and Political Economy2024Vol. 5Issue #363-385 -
Election Reform and Campaign Finance: Did Alaska’s Top-Four Nonpartisan Primaries and Ranked Choice General Elections Affect Political Spending?
Published in Social Science Quarterly2024Vol. 105Issue #5 -
Reform and Retrenchment: Why the Direct Primary Failed to Change American Politics
2024New York, NY -
The Roads to Congress 2022
Chapter: The Role of Donald Trump in the 2022 Republican Congressional PrimariesPublished by Palgrave Macmillan2024 -
Gender, Germs, and Governors: Political Masculinity and Leadership in the U.S. during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Published in European Journal of Politics and Gender2024 -
Public Opinion on Reforming U.S. Primaries
Published in Social Science Quarterly2024 -
Campaign Finance and Party Systems in Nonpartisan Municipal Elections
Urban Affairs Association Annual MeetingNashville, TNApril2023 -
Financing the 2020 Election
Chapter: Political and Policy Implications following the 2020 ElectionPublished by Brookings Institution Press2023 -
Campaign Finance, Election Systems, and Extremism
International Political Science Association Research Council on Political Finance and CorruptionPrague, Czech RepublicJuly2022Sponsored by International Political Science Association Research Council on Political Finance and Corruption -
Campaign Finance in Mid-Sized Cities, 2005-2021
Midwest Political Science AssociationChicago, ILApril2022Sponsored by Midwest Political Science Association -
Education, Inclusion, and Justice: International Association for Philosophy of Law and Social Philosophy edited volume
Chapter: Three Arguments for IncivilityPublished by Springer2022 -
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 Press2022 -
The State of the Parties
Chapter: Congressional Primary Challenges and the Health of the PartiesPublished by Rowman and Littlefield2022 -
Populism and Corruption: The Other Side of the Coin
Chapter: Who Pays for Populism?Published by Edward Elgar2021 -
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 Press2021 -
Gender, Germs, and Governors: Political Masculinity and Leadership in the U.S. during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Political Masculinities as an Analytical CategoryNetherlandsJune 182021Sponsored by Research Network for Political Masculinities through the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities and Social Sciences (NIAS) -
Factional Conflict and Independent Expenditures in the 2018 Democratic House Primaries
Published in Congress & the PresidencyMarch2021Vol. 48Issue #1 -
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 ElectionZoom, but it was supposed be in Manchester, NHMarch2021 -
Trumping Politics as Usual: Masculinity, Misogyny, and the 2016 Elections
2020New York, NY -
Primary Election Timing and Voter Turnout
Published in Election Law Journal2020Vol. 19Issue #4 -
Amicus Brief, Lieu v. Federal Election Commission
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Factional Conflict and Independent Expenditures in the 2018 Democratic House Primaries
Published in Congress and the Presidency2020 -
Campaigns on the Cutting Edge, 4th ed.
Chapter: Fundraising: the New RulesPublished by Sage / Congressional Quarterly2020 -
Mapping Populism
Chapter: Populist Corruption TalkPublished by Routledge2020 -
Democracy, Populism, and Truth
Chapter: Corruption, Populism, and SlothPublished by Springer2020 -
More than the Presidency: Making Sense of the Other Choices on the Ballot
American Political Science Association "Raise the Vote" Series -
Ranked Choice Voting
2020 Massachusetts Policy Priorities Symposium, Scholars Strategy NetworkSuffolk University, Boston, MA, March 2.Spring2020Sponsored by Scholars Strategy Network -
The State of Political Discourse in America 2019
2019National Institute for Civil DiscourseUniversity of ArizonaTucson, AZ -
Book Review of Aaron S. King, Unfolding Ambition in Senate Primary Elections
Perspectives on Politics2019Vol. 17Issue #4Perspectives on Politics -
Routledge Handbook of Primary Elections
2018 -
The Deregulatory Moment? A Comparative Perspective on Changing Campaign Finance Laws
2016 -
Congressional Primary Elections
2014 -
Getting Primaried: The Changing Politics of Congressional Primary Challenges
2013 -
Interest Groups and Campaign Finance Reform in the United States and Canada
2011
Awards and 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 -
Donor Networks and Ranked Choice Voting in Massachusetts Municipal Elections
Skoll Foundation, Working Group on Political Extremism subgrant
Apr. 1, 2022 – Dec. 31, 2022 -
American Corruption Talk
University of Arizona Foundation
Jun. 1, 2020 – May. 15, 2021 -
Congressional Primary Timing
William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
Apr. 1, 2014 – Apr. 1, 2017