Ray La Raja

Professor of Political Science / Associate Director of UMass Poll University of Massachusetts Amherst

  • Amherst MA

Ray La Raja's research interests include political parties, interest groups, elections, campaign finance and political participation.

Contact

University of Massachusetts Amherst

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Expertise

Public Policy and Organizations
Elections and Polling
Political Science
Campaign Finance
American Politics

Biography

Ray La Raja's areas of expertise include political parties, interest groups, campaign finance, elections, political participation, American state and local politics, public policy and political reform. He is co-founder and associate director of the UMass Poll, which conducts public opinion research in Massachusetts and the United States to inform policymaking.

Social Media

Video

Education

University of California, Berkeley

Ph.D.

Political Science

Harvard University

Master in Public Policy

Kennedy School of Government

Harvard University

A.B.

History and Literature

Select Recent Media Coverage

BBC News: Business Today

BBC  tv

2024-07-22

In comments on the BBC, Ray La Raja, professor of political science, says it was inevitable that President Joe Biden would drop out of the 2024 presidential race after support from the Democratic Party dwindled. “The pressure brought to bear by the top Democratic leaders, including people like Nancy Pelosi, other members of the Senate who were leaders, once you start to lose the support of key figures in your party like that, game over,” La Raja said.

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Breaking down the 2024 US presidential election campaign funds

VOA News  online

2024-05-31

Ray La Raja is quoted in an article about 2024 campaign finance rules. “There’s no limits on political spending in the United States,” he said in a briefing with the State Department. “So, under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, as interpreted by the Supreme Court, you can’t tell any group, any individual for that matter, how much they could spend in politics. This means there’s no laws that limit political spending.”

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Here are the five statewide questions likely to appear on November’s ballot

The Boston Globe  print

2024-07-10

Raymond La Raja, c-director of the UMass Amherst Poll, comments on statewide ballot questions likely to be decided by Massachusetts voters in November. “It’s another way for corporations or unions to do end-runs around the system,” he says. “Groups have become much more comfortable running independent operations and throwing money at this stuff.”

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Select Publications

The perils of choosing a nominee at the Democratic convention

The Boston Globe

Raymond J. La Raja

2024-07-02

In an opinion piece, Raymond La Raja, co-director of the UMass Amherst Poll, writes about the prospect of Democrats selecting a presidential nominee other than President Biden at their convention this summer.

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Americans just elected two lesbian governors. Have attitudes changed that much?

The Washington Post

Tatishe Nteta, Adam Eichen, Maddi Hertz, Ray La Raja, Jesse Rhodes and Alexander Theodoridis

2022-11-15

"The 2022 midterm elections delivered the most diverse slate of elected officials in the history of the nation, including breakthroughs by women and what’s being called a “rainbow wave” — a winning slate of lesbian, gay and bisexual candidates across the country"

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MAGA was the real winner of the Ohio Republican primary

The Washington Post

Mia Costa, Zachary Albert and Raymond J. La Raja

2022-05-13

Raymond La Raja is co-author of an article analyzing last week’s Republican primary for an open U.S. Senate seat in Ohio, which was won by Trump-endorsed candidate J.D. Vance who earned less than a third of the votes in a crowded field.

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