Experts

Jennifer Lawless

Faculty Senior Fellow
UVA+CV+-+Jennifer+Lawless.pdf

Fast Facts

  • Chair, UVA Department of Politics
  • Author or co-author of nine books
  • Former editor of the American Journal of Political Science
  • Expertise on women and politics, campaigns and elections, political media

Areas Of Expertise

  • Domestic Affairs
  • Media and the Press
  • Governance
  • Elections
  • Politics

Jennifer L. Lawless is the Leone Reaves and George W. Spicer Professor of Politics at the University of Virginia and the chair of the Politics Department. She is also has affiliations with UVA’s Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy and the Miller Center.

Her research focuses on political ambition, campaigns and elections, and media and politics. She is the author or co-author of nine books, including News Hole: The Demise of Local Journalism and Political Engagement (with Danny Hayes) and It Takes More than a Candidate: Why Women Don't Run for Office (with Richard L. Fox). 

Lawless' research, which has been supported by the National Science Foundation, has appeared in numerous academic journals and is regularly cited in the popular press. From 2019-2025, Lawless served as the co-editor in chief of the American Journal of Political Science. She is also the recipient of the 2023 Shorenstein Center Goldsmith Book Prize, for the academic book that examines the intersection among media, politics, and public policy. 

Lawless graduated from Union College with a BA in political science and Stanford University with an MA and PhD in political science. In 2006, she sought the Democratic nomination for the U.S. House of Representatives in Rhode Island’s second congressional district. Although she lost the race, she remains an obsessive political junkie.

Featured Publications

It Takes More Than a Candidate
It Takes More Than a Candidate

Jennifer Lawless (coauthor)

News Hole
News Hole: The Demise of Local Journalism and Political Engagement

Jennifer Lawless (coauthor)

Women Men
Women, Men & US Politics: 10 Big Questions

Jennifer Lawless (coauthor)

Women on the Run
Women on the Run

Jennifer Lawless (coauthor)

Running From Office
Running From Office

Jennifer Lawless (coauthor)

Becoming a Candidate
Becoming a Candidate

Jennifer Lawless

It Still Takes a Candidate
It Still Takes a Candidate

Jennifer Lawless (coauthor)

It Takes a Candidate
It Takes a Candidate

Jennifer Lawless (coauthor)

Jennifer Lawless News Feed

Boston Globe
Advocates says it’s time for R.I. to send another woman to Congress
Professor Jennifer L. Lawless, chair of the University of Virginia Department of Politics, ran against Langevin in the 2006 Democratic primary when she was a Brown University professor. At that time, Rhode Island ranked 38th in the percentage of women in the General Assembly, she said. But now Rhode Island ranks third, with women filling 44.2 percent of the legislative seats, according to the Center for American Women and Politics.
Jennifer Lawless Boston Globe
GoLocalProv
Will RI Democrats Nominate a Woman for Congress?
"I don’t think there will be 'pressure' to nominate a woman for a few reasons. First, Rhode Island has come a long way in terms of women’s representation. A woman has served as governor. Women are the lieutenant governor and Secretary of State. Multiple women are running for governor this cycle," said Lawless, who today is the Chair of the Political Science Department at the University of Department.
Jennifer Lawless GoLocalProv
Daily Courier
Midterms promise political headache for president, but possible reprieve for Canada
"Some of this is an inability — and I'm not sure if any other administration could do it any better — but an inability to communicate at a really individual level about how people's lives are better because the Democrats are in Washington right now," said Jennifer Lawless, a professor of politics at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.
Jennifer Lawless Kelowna Daily Courier
Poynter
How the local news crisis affects coverage of COVID-19 and the climate … and vice versa
“If there was ever a time that local news was important, it was during the pandemic, and it was during that time that also became particularly difficult to stay afloat, if you were a local newspaper,” said Jennifer Lawless, a University of Virginia professor and co-author with Danny Hayes of the new book “News Hole: The Demise of Local Journalism and Political Engagement.”
Jennifer Lawless Poynter
CPN
Wake-Up Call: Post-Election Analysis
Sunday Morning Wake-up Call host Rick Moore talks with Jennifer Lawless from the University of Virginia Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy and Commonwealth Professor of Politics and Paul Freedman from the University of Virginia Department of Politics Program in Environmental Thought and Practice about the 2021 governors race in Virginia. Exit polls and voter demographics are discussed.

Jennifer Lawless Charlottesville Podcasting Network
Cville Weekly
Painting the town red
UVA politics professor Jennifer Lawless agrees, saying that “Democrats need to focus on what they have delivered to everyday Americans.” “No politics is local,” Lawless says. “In recent decades, national issues have dominated local political agendas. National figures endorse and stump for local candidates. And money for state-level candidates floods in from national donors. Despite talking points to the contrary, that’s exactly what we saw this time around.”
Jennifer Lawless C-ville Weekly