Jordan Ragusa earned his Ph.D. from the University of Florida in 2011. Dr. Ragusa also has an M.A. from the University of Florida and a B.S. in secondary education from Bowling Green State University in Ohio.
Dr. Ragusa’s research focuses on the U.S. Congress, with specific interests on the effect(s) of political parties, polarization, and legislative organization on roll-call behavior and the policymaking process. His published work also includes research on the presidency, congressional and presidential elections, political behavior, and political economy. His research is published in Political Research Quarterly, American Politics Research, Research & Politics, Political Science Quarterly, Journal of Political Science, and the Journal of Elections, Public Opinion, and Parties.
Dr. Ragusa is currently at work on a book on repeals in Congress (with Nate Birkhead, Kansas State University). Using an original database of all major repeals from 1877 to 2012, the book seeks to answer the question of when and why repeals happen. One of the book’s core arguments is that when Congress repeals laws, it often does so when parties are unified in opposition to one another’s signature accomplishments, usually after the minority at passage re-gains power after a long period out of power.
Dr. Ragusa is also the co-director College’s American Politics Research Team, a research fellow in the Center for Public Choice and Market Process, and a columnist for the Legislative Branch Capacity Working Group at LegBranch.com.
