Jesse Rhodes

Professor of Political Science and Co-Director of the UMass Poll University of Massachusetts Amherst

  • Amherst MA

Jesse Rhodes is a leading expert in social policy, voting rights, inequality, and political behavior.

Contact

University of Massachusetts Amherst

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Expertise

Polls
Political Polling
Voting Rights
American Politics
Civil Rights

Biography

Jesse Rhodes is a leading expert in social policy, voting rights, inequality and political behavior. His research revolves around struggles over race, representation, and civil and voting rights, and their consequences for politics and policymaking in the United States.

He is co-director of the UMass Poll which combines cutting edge online polling with academic and professional expertise in the science of politics.

He has written extensively on inequality in representation, voting rights politics, education politics, economic, racial, and political inequality, presidential rhetoric, and party politics.

His new research, funded by the NSF, examines issue attention and legal consciousness in the LGBTQ+ community using a large corpus of articles from LGBTQ+ media.

Additional research examines the influence of racial attitudes on beliefs about the January 6 insurrection and perceptions of voting policies among whites; the impact of implicit racism on the behavior of state judges; and the influence of partisan bias on the behavior of jurors.

Video

Education

University of Virginia

Ph.D.

Politics

Juniata College

B.A.

Politics

Select Recent Media Coverage

DeSantis, Newsom offer stark contrast with Trump responses

The Hill  

2025-01-20

Jesse Rhodes discusses ahow California Gov. Gavin Newson and Florida Gov. Ron De Santis are preparing for Donald Trump’s presidency in their politically different large states.

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Lies About Immigration Help No One

The Atlantic  online

2024-09-21

Jesse Rhodes discusses how lies and misinformation spread by former President Donald Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance are meant to imply that nonwhite immigrants are inherently immoral.

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Exploring the Impact of Voting Rights on Public Health

AJPH Podcast  online

2024-06-27

Jesse Rhodes discusses the impact of voting rights on public health. “The federal government, particularly between the mid-1950s and 1965, made various efforts to try to empower African Americans in southern states to vote and those measures were essentially half measures and they were largely unsuccessful,” he says. “The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was a monumental act because it established really unique and distinctive legal and institutional features to protect voting in new ways.”

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Select Publications

How Will Racial Prejudice Impact the 2024 Election? | Opinion

Newsweek

Jesse Rhodes and Adam Eichen

2024-09-10

"In the wake of President Joe Biden's stunning decision to step away from the 2024 presidential election and endorse Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democrats' presidential nominee, Harris has been riding a wave of enthusiasm among voters. She has raised record amounts of money, attracted sell-out crowds at campaign rallies, and featured in countless memes and remixes. Where Biden once trailed Trump by a considerable margin, Harris is now running even in the White House race."

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Yes, efforts to eliminate DEI programs are rooted in racism

The Conversation

Jesse Rhodes et al

2024-04-05

Jesse Rhodes and colleagues write that efforts to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs in more than two dozen states are rooted in racism. Citing their research conducted through the UMass Poll, they say, “The troubling connection between racism and opposition to DEI programs highlights that there is still work to be done until the nation’s citizens are truly judged by the content of their character and not the color of their skin.”

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Politicians Should Know When to Retire | Opinion

Newsweek

Tatishe Nteta, Jesse Rhodes, and Adam Eichen

2023-08-07

"We should honor the contributions of older Americans serving in national elective office. And while we probably don't need to amend the Constitution to establish a maximum age of service, the fact that so many Americans support such an idea suggests that we need to have a national conversation about how to bring more youthfulness into our national politics. Doing so will help ensure that Americans of all ages enjoy fair representation in the halls of power."

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