Jennifer Heerwig
Associate Professor, Interim Chair
Sociology
Interests: My current research projects examine the political contributions of American corporate elites and the effects of new public financing initiatives on representation in local elections.
Visit Dr. Jen Heerwig's Personal Website
Bio:
My work uses innovative data sources and econometric methods to examine the American campaign finance system and political inequality more broadly. I'm particularly interested in how individual donors allocate their monetary contributions in national elections and what these patterns tell us about how donor motivations have changed over time. My work has been funded by the National Science Foundation and the Russell Sage Foundation.
Select Works:
Book:
Democracy Vouchers and the Promise of Fairer Elections in Seattle. 2024. Political Lessons from American Cities series, Temple University Press.
Articles:
Forthcoming. “Gender, Race, and Intersectionality in the Political Donations of America’s Corporate Elite.” The Sociological Quarterly.
“Gender, Race, and Intersectionality in Campaign Cash to the U.S. Congress, 1990 to 2014.” Socius: Sociological Research for a Dynamic World.
“Diversifying the Donor Pool: Did Seattle’s Democracy Voucher Program Help Reshape Participation in Municipal Campaign Finance?” Election Law Journal 18(4): 323-341.
"High-Dollar Donors and Donor-Rich Neighborhoods. Representational Distortion in Financing a Municipal Election in Seattle." Urban Affairs Review.
Heerwig, Jennifer A. 2018. “Money in the Middle: Contribution Strategies among Affluent Donors to Federal Elections, 1980-2008.” American Journal of Sociology 123: 1004-1063.