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We are professors of political science sharing academic research relevant to Utah. Posts are not peer reviewed and may discuss work in progress that is subject to future revision. Learn more. Each post reflects only its author’s views.
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Tag Archives: republic
We now have the fewest freshmen ever in the Utah House
Every incumbent on yesterday’s ballot won. This post is based on preliminary election results. Provisional and absentee ballots remain to be counted. When it convenes in January, Utah’s House of Representatives will have fewer freshmen on the floor than it … Continue reading
Posted in Everything
Tagged careerism, congress, legislature, nominations, republic
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We now have the fewest freshmen ever in the Utah House
Were Democrats able to pass their bills this year?
The numbers tell a different story: Democratic bills received less favorable treatment than last year. Before the 2013 Utah Legislative session started up, I wrote a post noting that Democrats have seen remarkable success in recent years at passing their … Continue reading
Posted in Everything
Tagged backdoor power, democrat, imbalance, leadership, legislature, partisanship, republic, senate president, speaker of the house
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Were Democrats able to pass their bills this year?
Lots of freshmen in the Utah House?
In January 2013, there will be more freshmen in the Utah House than at any other time in the past 20 years. From a glance over the election results, it looks like there will be 20 new faces in Utah’s … Continue reading
Is Jim Matheson a liberal or a moderate?
Matheson’s Congressional votes often go against partisan expectations. Jim Matheson presents himself to voters as a moderate willing to work with both parties. Critics from the right contend that he’s really a liberal at heart who will promptly ally with … Continue reading
Posted in Everything
Tagged congress, democrat, ideology, jason chaffetz, jim matheson, nominate, republic, rob bishop
3 Comments
Redistricting is not expected to change the partisan balance of Congress
They conclude that Utah did not experience a partisan gerrymander of its US House seats. In a painstaking state-by-state analysis of all 435 U.S. House seats, some sharp political scientists predict that the 2011 redistricting round will have no net … Continue reading
Posted in Everything
Tagged congress, legislature, partisanship, redistricting, representation, republic
3 Comments
What are the philosophical differences between the parties?
Differences between the two parties begin with questions about human nature and the good society. Differences between political parties reflect differences in how individuals view the world. These views can be traced back to philosophical questions that have concerned political … Continue reading
Posted in Everything
Tagged convention, delegates, democracy, ideology, partisanship, psychology, republic, utah voter poll, voting
4 Comments
Brewing a Weaker Tea?
The Tea Party played a much-diminished role in the 2012 Republican convention, no matter how you measure it. This analysis was performed by Kyrene Gibb, a student research fellow at BYU’s Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy, in … Continue reading
Posted in Everything
Tagged caucus, convention, dan liljenquist, delegates, orrin hatch, republic, student research, tea party, utah voter poll
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Brewing a Weaker Tea?
A new report on Utah’s nominating system
Do Utah’s election laws and practices allow “full opportunity” for people to become candidates and for “voters to express their choice?” This is a guest post by Morgan Lyon Cotti, Senior Research Analyst at the Utah Foundation. Utah Foundation released … Continue reading
Posted in Everything
Tagged delegates, election administration, nominations, representation, republic, turnout, utah foundation, voting
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A new report on Utah’s nominating system
Are legislators faithful to their constituents?
The correlation between district partisanship and legislator ideology is not perfect, but it is nevertheless strongly positive. This analysis was performed by Robert Richards, a student research fellow at BYU’s Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy, in collaboration … Continue reading
Posted in Everything
Tagged ideology, legislature, nominate, representation, republic, roll call votes, single member districts, student research
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Are legislators faithful to their constituents?
Do we live in a “compound Constitutional Republic” or something else?
There are no uses of the phrase “compound constitutional republic” in any American English book from 1800 through 2000. Last March, the Utah legislature passed a bill (HB 220) requiring Utah’s public schools to teach that the United States is … Continue reading
Posted in Everything
Tagged democracy, direct democracy, james madison, legislature, representation, republic
9 Comments