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Nicholas Goedert

Nicholas Goedert, Assistant Professor

Nicholas Goedert, Assistant Professor
Nicholas Goedert, Assistant Professor

Department of Political Science
529 Major Williams Hall (0130)
220 Stanger Street
Blacksburg, VA 24061
540-231-7665 |  ngoedert@vt.edu

Nicholas Goedert is an assistant professor of political science, working on a broad research agenda related to legislative elections and American politics.  His research has been published in journals including the American Journal of Political Science, State Politics and Policy Quarterly, Election Law Journal, and Research and Politics.   He is currently completing a book manuscript on the interaction of gerrymanders and electoral conditions or partisan tides, which he hopes to see published in 2020.  He served as an expert witness in the Wisconsin redistricting case Whitford v. Gill (adjudicated by the U.S. Supreme Court during summer 2018), and has also served as a consultant for the advocacy group FairVote and the Pennsylvania state legislature on election structure issues.  He holds a Ph.D. in Politics from Princeton University and a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center. 

  • American Politics
  • Legislative Elections
  • Election Law
  • Congress
  • Gerrymandering
  • PhD, in Political Science, Princeton University, 2012
  • JD, Georgetown University Law Center, 2006
  • BA, in Social Studies, Harvard University, 2001

Journal Articles

2018    “Democratic Incumbent Resilience in the Post-1980 Senate.” Research & Politics 5(4), 2053168018803811. (2018)

2017    “The Pseudo-Paradox of Partisan Mapmaking and Congressional Competition.” State Politics and Policy Quarterly 17(1): 47-75. (2017)

2015    “The Case of the Disappearing Bias:
A 2014 Update to the ‘Gerrymandering or Geography’ Debate”.  Research & Politics 2(4), 2053168015622474. [Research Note] (2015)

2014    "Redistricting, Risk, and Representation: How Five State Gerrymanders Weathered the Tides of the 2000’s." Election Law Journal 13(3): 406-418. (2014)

2014    “Do Women Deliberate with a Distinctive Voice? How Decision Rules and Group Gender Composition Affect the Content of Deliberation.” American Journal of Political Science 58(2): 291-306. [With Tali Mendelberg and Chris Karpowitz] (2014)

2014    “Gerrymandering or Geography?: How Democrats Won the Popular Vote but Lost the Congress in 2012.” Research & Politics 1(1): 2053168014528683. (2014)

2014    “Political Scandal and Bias in Survey Response.” PS: Political Science & Politics 47(4): 813-818. (2014)

Book Manuscript in Progress

Ground War: Courts, Commissions, and the Fight Over Partisan Gerrymanders

  • “Research Methods” (Undergraduate), Fall 2016 and Fall 2017
  • “U.S. Government and Politics”, Spring 2017, Fall 2017, Fall 2018, and Fall 2019
  • “Public Opinion”, Spring 2017 and Spring 2018
  • “Voting and Elections”, Spring 2018 and Spring 2019
  • “American Political Institutions” (Senior Seminar), Fall 2018
  • “Congress”, Fall 2019
  • Independent Study, Fall 2017

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