Research

My research agenda is driven by a profound desire to understand the current state of American politics. I tend to emphasize the importance of both elite behavior and the public's reaction in my work, and I am comfortable with both observational and experimental data. When feasible, I believe that state and local politics should be the focus of more political research. A variety of published, under-review, and working papers are detailed below. For a more thorough understanding of my current research agenda, see my Research Statement.

Specific areas of interest:

Representation
State politics, legislators, governors
Political Messaging
Social Media
Political Knowledge
Controversial speech

Peer-Reviewed Publication

Brittany C. Solomon, Matthew E. K. Hall, Abigail Hemmen, James N. Druckman. 2024. “Illusory interparty disagreement: Partisans agree on what hate speech to censor but do not know it.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 121 (39) 1.

Rachel Porter, Jeff Harden, Emily Anderson, Géssica de Freitas, Mackenzie R. Dobson, Abigail Hemmen, and Emma Schroeder. Accepted. "The Consequences of Elite Action Against Elections." British Journal of Political Science

Abigail Hemmen. Conditionally Accepted (Pending Replication). "Is it Worth Posting? Testing the Influence of State Legislators in Simulated Social Media." State Politics & Policy Quarterly

Dissertation

In my dissertation, Online Style, I explore how social media has impacted the relationship between state legislators and their constituents. What encourages (or discourages) legislators to have an online presence? Are there advantages to those who post? How do their constituents react to their social media posts? I use observational and experimental data to answer these questions.

Research Under Review

“Support for Content Moderation by Public versus Private Actors." with Matt Hall & Brittany Solomon

“Public Perception and Student Support of Protesters on College Campuses.” with Brittany Solomon, Matt Hall & James Druckman

Research in Progress

"Chronically Online at the State House? The Incentives and Resources that Predict State Legislators' Social Media Presence." [Dissertation Chapter]

"Posting for Political Power: State Legislators' Social Media Presence and Political Success." [Dissertation Chapter]

"Representation and Feelings of External Political Efficacy." with Emily Anderson, funded by the Franco Family Institute for Liberal Arts & the Public Good

"Understanding Americans' Contradictory Support for Political Compromise." with James Kirk, funded by the University of Notre Dame's Democracy Initiative

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