Congratulations to Michigan Political Leadership Program graduates who won their primaries last night, including Jocelyn Benson, Christina Hines, Jeremy Moss, Sean McCann, & up to 8 in the State Senate & 13 in the House. Apply to join us next year at mplp.msu.edu

Multi-candidate dynamics matter a lot in factional battles. Just compare MI-7 to MI-11 to MI-13. & the available candidates matter. Benson dominated governor primary by pushing one opponent to another race & another to a failed Indy bid. Thus a normy Dem won Abdul & Haley voters.

Mike Rogers will now get lots of national Republican support. They will think he can win & not believe any polls showing large Dem leads. Like McCormick in PA 24, but this time they will assume they have much better messages.

Bad night for Elissa Slotkin. She endorsed the 3rd place candidate in her prior district, helping her least preferred candidate. She didn't endorse (or recruit) in the Senate race. She may now get less attention than MI's other senator & loses stature as a Midwest savant.

This ad accusing a MI-7 candidate of being supported by dark money from the GOP: host2.adimpact.com/admo/viewer/... Might itself be from GOP dark money: punchbowl.news/article/camp... www.rawstory.com/shadowy-gop-... & it's not even the race's most ridiculous ad: www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

the diffusion of new scientific ideas beyond their field of origin has declined substantially over the past four decades, linked to increasing specialization in scientific language: conference.nber.org/conf_papers/...

Racial resentment & moral traditionalism are associated with more negativity toward local housing development academic.oup.com/ijpor/articl...

Housing for me, but not for thee: values-based motivations of opposition to local housing

Abstract. A key barrier to ensuring the growth of the housing supply is local opposition to development, often called NIMBYism (Not In My Back Yard). We us

academic.oup.com

Wealthier candidates do far better in generating early money, with large contributions that build. Candidates are more likely to drop out when they face a rich competitor daniellethomsen.com/wp-content/u...

banks extend preferential credit to firms with political connections and, in turn, receive regulatory advantages www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Reaching for influence: Do banks use loans to establish political connections?

Using close elections as an empirical setting, this paper examines the drivers and consequences of politically motivated lending by U.S. banks, with a…

sciencedirect.com

Last year, states spent 4% more than budgeted, mostly due to suplementals: www.nasbo.org/reports-data... Michigan pretended to cut this year's budget, but is actually spending more: bridgemi.com/michigan-gov...

Doctors are winning most arbitrations under the No Surprises Act, meaning it will likely increase health costs & insurance rates www.nytimes.com/2026/07/22/u...

Trump Administration Says Surprise Billing Law Is Being ‘Gamed’ by Doctors

For the first time, officials have acknowledged problems with the No Surprises Act, which has led to huge payments.

nytimes.com

Empathetic traits & values drive Democrats to accept compromise, whereas competitive traits & values drive Republicans to reject it. These views filter up from voters to Members of Congress (according to a new book): academic.oup.com/book/62261?l...

Dealmakers: The Psychology of Legislative Compromise

Abstract. Compromise is critical to democratic policymaking, but it can be hard to find on Capitol Hill. In this era of routine legislative gridlock, howev

academic.oup.com

Ideological self-identification among Latinos increasingly drives immigration attitudes, with conservatives adopting restrictionist views journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.

journals.sagepub.com

Inside the Democratic Socialist uprising How the DSA is responding to electoral success & failure New #ScienceOfPolitics podcast/transcript with David Purucker, who just finished a dissertation on the org www.niskanencenter.org/inside-the-d...

Inside the Democratic Socialist uprising - Niskanen Center

Candidates affiliated with (or sympathetic to) the Democratic Socialists of America (the DSA) have recently won several Democratic primaries.

niskanencenter.org

It was great to see PolMeth hosted at MSU & A useful sign of what AI enables, such as 1) ideological coding of every presidential policy announcement ever, 2) collecting every interest group endorsement across elections, & 3) coding ideological direction of all state legislation

My district (MI-7) may be 1st toss-up district primary win for a Bernie candidate. Will Lawrence is only local option & will be with Bernie, AOC, & Abdul Sun. Slotkin just endorsed Maasdam, but he's been in 3rd place in fundraising & polling, well behind Brink; may help Lawrence.

My student, Lowell Monis, won one of 2 best undergraduate research awards across the whole university, for his project "Policy and Political Impact of Demographic Diversity in U.S. Legislatures" polisci.msu.edu/news-events/...

MSU is hiring in American Politics (assistant professor) this year: careers.msu.edu/jobs/assista... Come join us.

Assistant Professor-Tenure System - East Lansing, Michigan, United States

Position Summary Michigan State University actively promotes a dynamic research and learning environment in which qualified individuals of differing perspectives, and cultural backgrounds pursue acade...

careers.msu.edu

Individuals who come to believe that Black Americans face less discrimination are more likely to move toward voting for the Republican presidential candidate. www.cambridge.org/core/service...

AAU institutions reported a 15% drop in PhD admissions this year, after an 11% drop the prior year www.nytimes.com/2026/07/06/u...

Decline of Ph.D. Admissions Could Imperil a ‘Generation of New Talent’

nytimes.com

A realist perspective on small donors in US Politics from me and @zalbert.bsky.social podcast interview by @mattgrossmann.bsky.social @niskanencenter.bsky.social www.niskanencenter.org/the-rise-of-...

The rise of small donors is mostly making politics worse - Niskanen Center

Ray La Raja and Zach Albert find that small donors are just as advantaged, partisan, and extreme as larger donors.

niskanencenter.org

The rise of small donors is mostly making politics worse New #ScienceOfPolitics podcast/transcript with Ray La Raja & Zach Albert www.niskanencenter.org/the-rise-of-...

The rise of small donors is mostly making politics worse - Niskanen Center

Ray La Raja and Zach Albert find that small donors are just as advantaged, partisan, and extreme as larger donors.

niskanencenter.org

In this post, I pick up where I left off in a recent conversation with Matt Grossman about the Supreme Court and democratic backsliding bsky.app/profile/matt...

Matt Grossmann@mattgrossmann.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Are Courts Contributing to Democratic Backsliding? US courts have historically been slow to protect guardrails. Election law cases may now have them abetting backsliding. New #ScienceOfPolitics podcast/transcript with Thomas Keck & Albert Rivero. www.niskanencenter.org/are-the-cour...

Michigan reached agreement on a state budget. Republicans wanted spending cuts & Democrats did not so the agreement was to estimate that federal support will decline even though it should not. Headlines get to tout spending cuts unlikely to materialize.

co-partisan discussion among white Republicans (versus talking to a white Democrat) increases their racial resentment, both in surveys & their rhetoric during discussion, even when the Republican discussion partner supports liberal racial policy idp.springer.com/authorize?re...

Partisan Social Norms, Racial Attitudes and Civic Discourse - Political Behavior

How do social norms surrounding racial attitudes differ among white Democrats and Republicans? Do these norms differ from the prevailing “norm of equality,” and how do they affect civic discourse? Usi...

idp.springer.com

Agencies in traditionalistic states issue fewer regulations than those in moralistic or individualistic states; proposed rules in individualistic states cover a broader range of policy areas. www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Americans explain their party identification & their animosity toward the other party mostly by invoking policy, values, & ideology, rather than disdain, socialization, specific actors, or performance, & did so more than scholars of partisanship expected academic.oup.com/poq/advance-...

Given majorities of Dems & Reps in House & Senate support similar bills to require age verification & regulate social media, bill may pass eventually. But long history of industry & civil liberties groups exploiting chamber differences, delays, & legal threats to block regulation

What leftist vs leadership policy conflicts would come up in 2027 Congress? They will be mostly united against Trump (including war funding) & unable to pass many non-messaging bills anyway. They already tried 2 gov shutdowns to no effect. But will be incentives to differentiate.

Dem odds to win Senate control have declined in prediction markets (with Republicans now favored) even as House control & generic ballot are high & stable, reflecting perceived candidate weaknesses reinforced by named candidate polls.