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Christopher Devine

Associate Professor

Full-Time Faculty

College of Arts and Sciences: Political Science

Contact

Email: Christopher Devine
Phone: 937-229-3626
SJH 205
Website: Visit Site
Curriculum Vitae: Read CV

Degrees

  • Ph.D., Political Science, The Ohio State University, 2011
  • M.A., Political Science, The Ohio State University, 2008
  • B.A., Government & English, Connecticut College, 2006

Profile

Christopher Devine is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Dayton. Devine earned his Ph.D. in Political Science from The Ohio State University in 2011. His dissertation, on ideological social identity, earned the Henry R. Spencer Award as the best dissertation in The Ohio State University’s Political Science Department for the 2010-11 academic year.

Devine is a leading expert on vice presidential candidates. He is the co-author, with Kyle C. Kopko, of two books on this topic, including Do Running Mates Matter? The Influence of Vice Presidential Candidates in Presidential Elections (University Press of Kansas, 2020) and The VP Advantage: How Running Mates Influence Home State Voting in Presidential Elections (Manchester University Press, 2016). Their research has been featured in numerous media outlets, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, NPR, CNN, Fox News, Vox, and FiveThirtyEight. Also, Devine and Kopko have written about their research on vice presidential candidates for the Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, FiveThirtyEight, Politico Magazine and Time.

Devine has published journal articles and book chapters on several other topics including presidential campaign visits, partisanship, ideology, the Libertarian Party and the Presidential Medal of Freedom—the latter of which has been covered by media outlets including The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Today, CNN and NPR. He is also the co-author — with Jacqueline R. Kanovitz and Jefferson L. Ingram — of Constitutional Law for Criminal Justice, 15th Edition.

At the University of Dayton, Devine teaches courses on many of these topics, including The American Political System (POL201), Political Parties, Campaigns and Elections (POL310), Public Opinion and Political Behavior (POL311) and American Presidency (POL313). Also, he teaches students how to conduct their own research projects in POL207: Political Science Research Methods.

Faculty perspective

"I want my students to be as fascinated by, and passionate about, politics as I am. Even more importantly, I want students to see the bigger picture — that what they learn inside of the classroom and apply outside of it should point toward the end-goal of vocation. Indeed, I hope they will find a purpose in their work that extends far beyond earning high grades and making money, to making a difference in the world that reflects each student’s unique, God-given talents and interests. I am blessed to teach at UD, because ours is a community that values and cultivates a spirit of vocation — among faculty and students, alike."

Courses taught

  • POL 201: American Political System
  • POL 207: Political Science Research Methods
  • POL 310: Political Parties, Campaigns, & Elections
  • POL 311: Public Opinion and Political Behavior
  • POL 313: The American Presidency
  • POL 411: Constitutional Law

Research interests

  • Campaigns and Elections
  • Public Opinion
  • Political Parties
  • Ideology
  • U.S. Presidency

Selected publications and presentations

Books

Do Running Mates Matter? The Influence of Vice Presidential Candidates in Presidential Elections (with Kyle C. Kopko). 2020. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas.

Constitutional Law for Criminal Justice, 15th edition (with Jacqueline R. Kanovitz and Jefferson L. Ingram). 2019. New York: Routledge.

The VP Advantage: How Running Mates Influence Home State Voting in Presidential Elections (with Kyle C. Kopko). 2016. Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press.

Journal Articles

“The Gender Citation Gap in Undergraduate Student Research: Evidence from the Political Science Classroom” (with Li-Yin Liu and Heidi Gauder). Forthcoming. PS: Political Science and Politics.

“Surrogate-in-Chief: Did Bill Clinton’s Campaign Visits Help (or Hurt) Hillary Clinton in 2016?” (with Aaron C. Weinschenk). Forthcoming. The Forum.

“Closing the Gap: Collaborating with Research Librarians to Improve Information Literacy in the Political Science Classroom” (with Heidi Gauder and Michelle C. Pautz). Forthcoming. Journal of Political Science Education.

“Bringing Voters Into the Equation: An Individual-Level Analysis of the Vice Presidential Home State Advantage” (with Kyle C. Kopko). 2019. Presidential Studies Quarterly 49(4): 827-854.

“Voter Mobilization 101: Presidential Campaign Visits to Colleges and Universities in the 2016 Election.” 2019. PS: Political Science and Politics 52(2): 261-266.

“What If Hillary Clinton Had Gone to Wisconsin? Presidential Campaign Visits and Vote Choice in the 2016 Election.” 2018. The Forum 16(2): 211-234.

“Split Tickets? On the Strategic Allocation of Presidential Versus Vice Presidential Visits in 2016” (with Kyle C. Kopko). 2018. SAGE Open July-September: 1-12.

“Ideological Social Identity: Psychological Attachment to Ideological In-Groups as a Political Phenomenon and a Behavioral Influence.” 2015. Political Behavior 37(3): 509-535.

“The Politics of the Presidential Medal of Freedom: A Fifty Year Analysis, 1963-2013” (with Kyle C. Kopko, E. Fletcher McClellan, Julia Ward, and Jillian E. Casey). 2015. New England Journal of Political Science 8(2): 156-184.

“Presidential Versus Vice Presidential Home State Advantage: A Comparative Analysis of Electoral Significance, Causes, and Processes, 1984-2008” (with Kyle C. Kopko). 2013. Presidential Studies Quarterly 43(4): 814-838.

“Social Issues, Authoritarianism, and Ideological Conceptualization: How Policy Dimensions and Psychological Factors Influence Ideological Labeling.” 2012. Political Psychology 33(4): 531-552.

“The Vice Presidential Home State Advantage Reconsidered: Analyzing the Interactive Effect of Home State Population and Political Experience, 1884-2008” (with Kyle C. Kopko). Presidential Studies Quarterly 41(1): 1-17.

“In the Eye of the Beholder: Motivated Reasoning in Disputed Elections” (with Kyle C. Kopko, Sarah M. Bryner, Jeffrey L. Budziak, and Steven Nawara). 2011. Political Behavior 33(2): 271-290.

“Racial Attitude Effects in the 2008 Presidential Election: Examining the Unconventional Factors Shaping Vote Choice in a Most Unconventional Election” (with Herbert F. Weisberg). Electoral Studies 29(4): 569-581.

“Partisan Defection and Change in the 2008 US Presidential Election” (with Herbert F. Weisberg). Journal of Elections, Public Opinion, and Parties 20(2): 213-240.

Book Chapters

“The Libertarian Party.” 2020. In Beyond Donkeys and Elephants: Minor Political Parties in Contemporary American Politics, ed. Richard Davis. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, pp. 41-63.

“Fly-To County: The Midwest as Presidential Battleground, 1946-2016” (with Daniel R. Birdsong). 2020. In The Conservative Heartland: A Political History of the Postwar American Midwest, eds. Jon K. Lauck and Catherine McNicol Stock. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, pp. 72-94.

“Oh, the Places They’ll Go: The Geography and Political Strategy of Presidential Campaign Visits in 2016.” 2017. In Studies of Communication in the 2016 Presidential Campaign, ed. Robert E. Denton, Jr. Lanham, MD: Lexington, pp. 45-68.

“#TeamGov: On the Political Experience, Campaign Messaging, and Electoral Performance of Johnson-Weld 2016” (with Kyle C. Kopko). 2017. In Studies of Communication in the 2016 Presidential Campaign, ed. Robert E. Denton, Jr. Lanham, MD: Lexington, 163-188.

Public Scholarship

“For Biden, Naming Cabinet Before Election Would Be a Big Risk.” 2020. The Conversation. May 7.

“Biden’s Choice of Running Mate Matters, But Not for the Reasons You May Think.” 2020. Los Angeles Times. April 12.

“What Trump’s Picks for the Presidential Medal of Freedom – like Rush Limbaugh and Antonin Scalia – Say about Him.” 2020. The Conversation. February 6.

“Don’t Be Fooled – Most Independents are Partisans Too.” 2020. The Conversation. January 27.

“Trump Has Been Awarding a Lot of Presidential Medals of Freedom. Here’s What That Says about His Values” (with E. Fletcher McClellan and Kyle C. Kopko). 2019. The Washington Post – Monkey Cage. June 20.

“Holding Their Convention in Wisconsin Could Help Democrats in 2020. Here’s the Evidence.” 2019. The Washington Post – Monkey Cage. March 18.

“Can Florida’s Recount be Done Fairly? Maybe. Here’s What Makes the Difference” (with Kyle C. Kopko, Sarah M. Bryner, Jeffrey Budziak, and Steven P. Nawara). 2018. The Washington Post – Monkey Cage. November 16.

“Obama Has Set the Record for the Most Presidential Medals of Freedom” (with E. Fletcher McClellan, Kyle C. Kopko, Jillian E. Casey, and Julia L. Ward). 2016. The Washington Post – Monkey Cage. November 22.

“5 Things You Need to Know About How Third-Party Candidates Did in 2016” (with Kyle C. Kopko). 2016. The Washington Post – Monkey Cage. November 15.

“How Clinton and Trump Are Using Their Running Mates on the Campaign Trail” (with Kyle C. Kopko). 2016. FiveThirtyEight. October 28.

“Why the Kaine vs. Pence Vice Presidential Debate Matters” (with Kyle C. Kopko). 2016. The Conversation. October 3.

“Will Tim Kaine Deliver Virginia (and Catholics)? Don’t Count on It” (with Kyle C. Kopko). 2016. The Washington Post – Monkey Cage. July 22.

“Does Newt Gingrich Pass His Own Litmus Test for Veep?” (with Kyle C. Kopko). 2016. Time. July 14.

“Will the Vice Presidential Candidates Matter this Year? Maybe, But Not the Way You Think” (with Kyle C. Kopko). 2016. The Conversation. July 12.

“This Year’s Libertarian Ticket has Remarkable Political Experience. Now Will It Matter?” (with Kyle C. Kopko). 2016. The Washington Post – Monkey Cage. May 31.

“How Clinton and Trump Should Choose Their Vice Presidents” (with Kyle C. Kopko). 2016. Time. May 2.

“The 4 Advantages a Vice Presidential Pick Could Offer a Candidate” (with Kyle C. Kopko). 2016. Time. April 28.

“Who Should Trump and Clinton Pick as Running Mates? This Research Says It Doesn’t Really Matter” (with Kyle C. Kopko). 2016. The Washington Post – Monkey Cage. April 25.

“Why VPs Matter Less than You Think” (with Kyle C. Kopko). 2016. Politico Magazine. April 11.

Presentations

Panelist, “The Ohio Governor’s Debate,” University of Dayton, September 19, 2018.