USC.edu

Christian Grose

Professor of Political Science and Public Policy
Christian Grose
Email cgrose@usc.edu Office DMC 230B Office Phone (213) 740-1683

Research & Practice Areas

American government, political institutions; political representation; the politics of the policy-making process; electoral behavior and campaigns; race, ethnicity, and politics; political and electoral reforms; field and survey experimental techniques to study the behavior of legislators, candidates, and other political elites.

Biography

Christian Grose is Professor of Political Science and Public Policy at the University of Southern California. He is the Academic Director of the USC Schwarzenegger Institute for State and Global Policy. He served as the Director of the Political Science and International Relations Ph.D. program in USC Dornsife College from 2015-18. He is editor of the journal Research & Politics. In 2020, he led a team that administered the USC Schwarzenegger Institute nonpartisan democracy grants to local election administrators to open new polling places; and he is now conducting research about how best to improve voter access and voting rights based around this community-engaged work. 

He is the author of more than 50 articles, chapters, policy reports, and other works about American politics; legislative politics; public administration; public policy; race and ethnicity; voting rights; and political representation; including in the American Political Science Review; the American Journal of Political Science; the Journal of Politics; the British Journal of Political Science; Political Research Quarterly; Legislative Studies Quarterly; and Political Behavior. His book Congress in Black and White (Cambridge University Press) won the best book on race and politics award from the American Political Science Association.  His research has been funded by the Russell Sage Foundation, the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, the MIT Election Data Science Center, and others. In total, he has raised nearly $3 million for research and other activities at USC.  Grose’s research has been profiled in the Washington Post, the New York Times, National Public Radio, and other media outlets.

Grose directs USC’s Democracy Lab, where researchers, students, and policy practitioners work together to generate new ideas to reform American democracy. His recent work examines behavioral and social choices made by public officials and public election administrators, and how they are constrained by institutions and law. He is also an expert in political reforms and voting rights, including independent redistricting commissions. His research often uses field and survey experimental techniques to answer questions about public policy, political institutions, and the behavior of public administrators and elected officials. Some of this research involves partnerships with practitioners and the community. Grose has served as an expert consultant and witness in redistricting and voting rights cases, including as the voting rights statistical consultant for 2 of the 10 largest counties in the United States in 2021.

Dr. Grose has been named the Herman Brown Distinguished Scholar, an award given annually to a U.S. political scientist. He also received the 2022 best article published in the Journal of Politics; received the 2020 best article published in Political Research Quarterly; and received the CQ Press award for the best paper on legislative studies presented at the American Political Science Association meeting. He co-chairs the 2023 Midwest Political Science Association meeting. 

Grose has experience conducting innovative teaching and scholarship via both virtual online and in-person platforms; and regularly partners with public officials, policy makers, and academic researchers in his teaching, scholarship, and administrative leadership.

Education

  • Ph.D. University of Rochester, 2003
  • B.A. Duke University, 1996

  • Research Specialties

    American government, political institutions; political representation; the politics of the policy-making process; electoral behavior and campaigns; race, ethnicity, and politics; political and electoral reforms; field and survey experimental techniques to study the behavior of legislators, candidates, and other political elites.

  • Contracts and Grants Awarded

    • Strengthening Democracy and Election Administration: ESRA, (Election Trust Initiative), Christian Grose, $101,571, 2023-2024
    • The Election Science Research and Administration conference, gift for networking reception, (States United Democracy Center), Christian Grose, $20,000, 2023-2024
    • The Election Science Research and Administration conference, gift for panel sponsorships, (Democracy Fund), Christian Grose, $10,000, 2023-2024
    • USC Schwarzenegger Institute Democracy Grants to Local Election Administration, (Individual gifts), Christian Grose, $2,500,000, 2020-2021
    • Do Post-election Audits Increase Confidence in Elections?, (M.I.T. Election and Data Science Lab), Christian R. Grose, Nathan Micatka, Ph.D. student, $9,850, 2019-2020
    • Digital Environmental Legislative Handbook., (Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation), Christian R. Grose, $250,000, Fall 2018
    • The Private Financial Interests of Public Officials and Inequality in the United States, (Russell Sage Foundation), Christian Grose, $125,929, 2017-2018
    • Meeting the Challenge, (NSF, Weidenbaum Ctr, Schwarzenegger Inst, CIS), Betsy Sinclair (Washington University), Christian Grose (USC), Michael Alvarez (Cal Tech), Andy Sinclair (NYU), $54,000, 2016-2017
    • Primary Electoral Institutions and Party Polarization in Legislative Campaigns, (USC Schwarzenegger Institute), Christian Grose, $25,848, 2015-2016
    • Transparency and the Federal Election Commission, (Bedrosian Center), Abby Wood, Christian Grose, $5,000, 2014 – 2015

  • Book

    • Gronke, P., Grose, C. R., et al., E. (2024). Local Election Administrators in the United States: The Frontline of Democracy. London: Springer. Click here for book.
    • Grose, C. R. (2011). Congress in Black and White: Race and Representation in Washington and at Home. New York: Cambridge University Press, published January 2011. Click here for book.

    Book Chapters

    • Grose, C. R. (2025). Leveraging natural experiments in political and legal institutions: the historical political economy of random audits. Causal Inference and American Political Development, forthcoming.
    • Grose, C. R. (2024). How Private Philanthropy Supercharged the 2020 Election: The Audacious Story of the USC Schwarzenegger Institute and the Center for Tech and Civic Life in Local Election Administration. Frontline Workers of Democracy, ed., Paul Gronke, et al. London: Springer. Click here for book chapter.
    • Grose, C. R. (2021). Experiments, Political Elites, and Political Institutions. In James Druckman and Donald Green, eds., Cambridge Handbook of Experimental Political Science, 2d ed. Click here for chapter.
    • Grose, C. R. (2016). Field Experiments on Elected and Public Officials: Ethical Obligations and Requirements. In Scott Desposato, ed., Ethics and Experiments (Routledge Studies in Experimental Political Science). Click here for chapter.

    Journal Article

    • Sinclair, J. A., Alvarez, R. M., Sinclair, B., Grose, C. R. (2024). Electoral Innovation and the Alaska Electoral System: Partisanship and Populism Are Associated with Support for the Top-4, Ranked-Choice Voting System. Political Research Quarterly. (77:4), pp. 1196-1211. Click here for article.
    • Masuoka, N., Grose, C. R., Junn, J. (2023). Sexual Harassment and Candidate Evaluation: Gender and Partisanship Interact to Affect Voter Responses to Candidates Accused of Harassment. Political Behavior. (45), pp. 1285-1307. Click here for article.
    • Grose, C. R., Bell, K. B. (2023). Philanthropy and Election Operations. Journal of Election Administration Research & Practice. Vol. 2 (1:24-31), pp. 24-31.
    • Wood, A. K., Grose, C. R. (2022). Campaign Finance Transparency Affects Legislators’ Election Outcomes and Behavior. American Journal of Political Science. Click here for article.
    • Napolio, N. G., Grose, C. R. (2022). Crossing Over: Majority Party Control Affects Legislator Behavior and the Agenda. American Political Science Review. Click here for the article.
    • Grose, C. R., Lopez, P., Sadhwani, S., Yoshinaka, A. (2022). Social Lobbying. Journal of Politics. Click here for article.
    • Grose, C. R. (2022). Towards an Institutional and Behavioral Public Administration: How do Institutions Constrain or Exacerbate Behavioral Biases of Administrators?. Journal of Behavioral Public Administration. Click here for article.
    • Peterson, J. C., Grose, C. R. (2021). The Private Interests of Public Officials: Financial Regulation in the U.S. Congress. Legislative Studies Quarterly. Click here for article.
    • Grose, C. R., Peterson, J. C. (2020). Economic Interests Cause Elected Officials to Liberalize Their Racial Attitudes. Political Research Quarterly. Click here for article.
    • Grose, C. R. (2020). Reducing Legislative Polarization: Top-two and Open Primaries Are Associated with More Moderate Legislators. Journal of Political Institutions and Political Economy. Click here for article.
    • Grose, C. R., Wood, A. K. (2019). Randomized experiments by government institutions and American political development. Public Choice. pp. 1-13. Click here for article.
    • Mendez, M. S., Grose, C. R. (2018). Doubling Down: Inequality in Responsiveness and the Policy Preferences of Elected Officials. Legislative Studies Quarterly. Click here for article.
    • Grose, C. R. (2018). The Paradox of Race, Religion, and Representation: The Persistent Influence of White Evangelicals and the Decline of White Religious Voters. Journal of Race, Ethnicity, and Politics. Vol. 3 (1), pp. 107-111. Click here for article.
    • Grose, C. R., Malhotra, N., Van Houweling, R. P. (2015). Explaining Explanations: How Legislators Explain their Policy Positions and How Citizens React. American Journal of Political Science. Vol. 59 (3), pp. 724-43. Click here for article.
    • Grose, C. R. (2014). Field Experimental Work on Political Institutions. Annual Review of Political Science. Vol. 17, pp. 355-70. Click here for article.
    • Clinton, J. D., Bertelli, A. M., Grose, C. R., Lewis, D. E., Nixon, D. C. (2012). Separated Powers in the United States: The Ideology of Agencies, Presidents, and Congress. American Journal of Political Science. Vol. 56 (2), pp. 341-54. Click here for article.
    • Bertelli, A. M., Grose, C. R. (2011). The Lengthened Shadow of Another Institution: The Ideological Preferences of the Executive Branch and Congress. American Journal of Political Science. Vol. 55 (4), pp. 767-781. Click here for article.
    • Yoshinaka, A., Grose, C. R. (2011). Ideological Hedging in Uncertain Times: Inconsistent Legislative Representation and Voter Enfranchisement. British Journal of Political Science. Vol. 41 (4), pp. 765-794. Click here for article.
    • Grose, C. R., Husser, J., Yoshinaka, A. (2010). Plus Ça Change: Race, Gender, and Issue Retrospections in the 2008 U.S. Election. Journal of Elections, Public Opinion, and Parties. Vol. 20 (2), pp. 187-211. Click here for article.
    • Grose, C. R., Middlemass, K. M. (2010). Listen to What I Say, Not How I Vote: Congressional Support of the President. Social Science Quarterly. Vol. 91 (1), pp. 143-167. Click here for article.
    • Bertelli, A. M., Grose, C. R. (2009). Secretaries of Pork? A New Theory of Distributive Politics. Journal of Politics. Vol. 71 (3), pp. 926-945. Click here for article.
    • Grose, C. R., Oppenheimer, B. I. (2007). The Iraq War, Partisanship, and Candidate Attributes: Explaining Variation in Partisan Swing in the 2006 U.S. House Elections. Legislative Studies Quarterly. Vol. 32 (4), pp. 531-557. Click here for article.
    • Grose, C. R., Mangum, M., Martin, C. (2007). Race, Political Empowerment, and Constituency Service: Descriptive Representation and the Hiring of African-American Congressional Staff. Polity. Vol. 39 (4), pp. 449-478. Click here for article.
    • Middlemass, K. M., Grose, C. R. (2007). The Three Presidencies? Legislative Position-taking in Support of the President on Domestic, Foreign, and Homeland Security Policies in the 107th Congress. Congress & the Presidency. Vol. 34 (2), pp. 57-80. Click here for article.
    • Bertelli, A. M., Grose, C. R. (2007). Agreeable Administrators? The Public Positions of Cabinet Secretaries and Presidents. Presidential Studies Quarterly. Vol. 37 (2), pp. 228-247. Click here for article.
    • Grose, C. R. (2007). Cues, Endorsements, and Heresthetic in a High-profile Election: Racial Polarization in Durham, North Carolina. PS: Political Science and Politics. Vol. 40 (2), pp. 325-332. Click here for article.
    • Grose, C. R. (2006). Bridging the Divide: Interethnic Cooperation, Minority Media Outlets, and the Coverage of Latino, African-American, and Asian-American Members of Congress. Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics. Vol. 11 (4), pp. 115-130. Click here for article.
    • Bertelli, A. M., Grose, C. R. (2006). The Spatial Model and the Senate Trial of President Clinton. American Politics Research. Vol. 34 (4) Click here for article.
    • Grose, C. R. (2005). Disentangling Constituency and Legislator Effects in Legislative Representation. Social Science Quarterly. Vol. 86 (2), pp. 427-443. Click here for article.
    • Grose, C. R., Yoshinaka, A. (2005). Partisan Politics and Electoral Design: The Enfranchisement of Felons and Ex-felons in the U.S., 1960-1999. State and Local Government Review. Vol. 37 (1), pp. 49-60. Click here for article.
    • Grose, C. R., Yoshinaka, A. (2003). The Electoral Consequences of Party Switching by Incumbent Members of Congress, 1947-2000. Legislative Studies Quarterly. Vol. 28 (1), pp. 55-75. Click here for article.
    • Alan Rosenthal award, American Political Science Association Legislative Studies Section, for the best publication that strengthens the practice of representative democracy, received, 2023-2024
    • Joseph L. Bernd award for best article published in Journal of Politics, received, Spring 2023
    • Award for best article published in 2020 in Political Research Quarterly, received, Spring 2021
    • Herman Brown Distinguished Scholar Award, given to one U.S. political scientist annually in recognition of their research and scholarship, 2019-2020
    • USC Faculty Mentoring Award, for mentoring of graduate students , 2017-2018
    • 2012 winner of Best Book on Race, Ethnicity, and Representation award; issued by American Political Science Association section on Race, Ethnicity, and Politics, Fall 2012
    • Recipient of CQ Press award for the best paper on legislative studies presented at the 2009 American Political Science Association meeting (awarded Sept. 2010), Fall 2010
    • Carl Albert award for the best dissertation in legislative politics, American Political Science Association Legislative Politics section, 2003-2004

  • Administrative Appointments

    • Academic Director, USC Schwarzenegger Institute for State and Global Policy., 07/01/2018 –
    • Director, USC Price California Issues Poll, 2020 – 2022
    • Founder and Administrator, USC Predoctoral Institute for Scholars of Color and First-generation Scholars (co-founded with Graduate Advisor Veri Chavarin), 2016 – 2019
    • Director, USC Political Science and International Relations Ph.D. program, 08/16/2015 – 08/15/2018

    Committees

    • Member, University Committee on Academic Review (UCAR, USC Provost’s Office), 08/15/2018 –
    • Member, Advisory and Executive Committee, Department of Political Science & International Relations (USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences), 2020 – 2022
    • Member, Executive Committee, political science department (USC), 2017-2018
    • Member, Committee on Collaboration in Research Methods across Social Science Departments (USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts & Sciences), 2017-2018
    • Member, Steering Committee, Political Science and International Relations Ph.D. program (USC), 2013 – 2015
    • Co-Chair, Southern California Empirical Legal Studies (SCELS) interdisciplinary research group (USC), Spring 2015
    • Member, Executive Committee, political science department (USC), 2013-2014
    • Member, Executive Committee, political science department (USC), 2011-2012
    • Member, Undergraduate Committee, political science department (USC), 2010-2011

  • Committees

    • Co-Chair, Midwest Political Science Association Program & 2023 Meeting, 2022-2023
    • Chair, Legislative Politics section, Western Political Science Association, 2021-2022
    • Chair, Legislative Politics section, Western Political Science Association, 2020-2021
    • Chair, Legislative Institutions section, Midwest Political Science Association, 2020-2021
    • Member, Nominations Committee, American Political Science Association Race, Ethnicity, and Politics section, 2018-2019
    • Member, Emerging Scholar Award Committee, American Political Science Association, Legislative Politics section, 2018-2019
    • Member, Evan Ringquist Best Paper on Political Institutions Paper Award Committee, Midwest Political Science Association, 2018-2019
    • Section Chair, Experimental Research Section, Midwest Political Science Association, 2016-2017
    • Member, Patrick J. Fett award committee for best paper on the scientific study of Congress and the Presidency, Midwest Political Science Association, 2015-2016
    • Member, Nominations committee, Representation and Electoral Systems section, American Political Science Association, 2015-2016

    Conferences Organized

    • Co-organizer, Annual mini-conference on field experiments and political elites, 2014 – 2023

    Editorships and Editorial Boards

    • Editor, Research & Politics, 2021 –
    • Editorial Board, American Politics Research, 2016 –
    • Editorial Board, Journal of Experimental Political Science, 2013 –
    • Editorial Board, Journal of Politics, 2017 – 2019
    • Editorial Board, American Journal of Political Science, 2010 – 2013
USC Dornsife faculty and staff may update profiles via MyDornsife.