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

Newsweek
Raphael Warnock, Jon Ossoff's Georgia Wins Raise Progressive Hopes of Shaping Biden Agenda
With Warnock and Ossoff now heading to the Senate, many progressives are hopeful that their wins will grant Democrats a smooth path forward in implementing a more left-leaning agenda. But during a recent conversation with Newsweek, Jennifer Lawless, a professor of politics at the University of Virginia, said the reality likely won't be as clear-cut. With narrow majorities in the House and Senate, Democratic leaders will have to strike a balance between securing legislative victories and avoiding alienating the more moderate members of their party.
Jennifer Lawless Newsweek
USA Today
Liberal and conservative teach the 2020 election. Together. On Zoom. What could go wrong?
Worried that 2021 could be filled with cringe-worthy political conversations around the virtual dinner table and, post-pandemic, in real life? Dreading the moment that an outspoken neighbor, work colleague or family member pops off? Well, the two of us — one a card-carrying liberal and the other a self-avowed conservative — just survived 13 weeks of hour-long political conversations, twice a week every week. And get this: We actually enjoyed it.
Jennifer Lawless USA Today
The Guardian
'Dr B': the low-profile college educator set to break barriers as first lady
Jennifer Lawless, a politics professor at University of Virginia, said Biden would “knock down a glass ceiling” for first ladies and, along with Kamala Harris’s husband, Doug Emhoff, who is leaving his job to become the first “second gentleman”, represents an evolution of US politics. “This is the first time that we’re seeing somebody say, ‘You know what? My previous life is important too and I’m not going to define myself entirely based on my husband’s job’,” she said.
Jennifer Lawless The Guardian
WAMU
How A Record Number Of Republican Women Got Elected To Congress
In that light, University of Virginia political science professor Jennifer Lawless explained why she thinks GOP women’s success this year is important. “​It’s a big deal in that the Republicans have demonstrated that when they make some effort to recruit female candidates, they see an increase in women’s representation,” Lawless said. “But we haven’t not known that. Since the 1980s, when women run for office, whether as Democrats or Republicans, we know that they’re as likely as men to win elections.”
Jennifer Lawless WAMU
HuffPost
3 Reasons It Took So Long To Get Our First Madam Vice President
“This wasn’t somebody who nobody had heard of, plopped in as a way to demonstrate some sort of symbolic nod to women,” said Jennifer Lawless, a political science professor at the University of Virginia.
Jennifer Lawless HuffPost
The Hill
Jill Biden set to redefine role of first lady
“The particular challenge will be making sure to send a signal she can do two jobs,” said Jennifer Lawless, a politics professor at the University of Virginia.
Jennifer Lawless The Hill