Welcome! I am a PhD candidate in the Department of Political Science at Yale University. My primary research agenda investigates major questions at the intersection of populism, conservativism, and contemporary American political attitudes. Do populist appeals increase mass support for democratic backsliding? What explains the link between White evangelicals and the Republican Party? Regarding the first question, my first dissertation paper posits and tests a theoretical framework for how populist appeals increase mass support for democratic backsliding. This solo-authored article has been invited to revise and resubmit at Political Behavior. My second dissertation paper is part of a broader book project that speaks to the second question. While that paper started out as an exploration of the link between White evangelicals and Trump, it has broadened to an investigation of the link between White evangelicals and the Republican Party.
My research is published in American Politics Research, Environmental Politics, and the Yale Journal of International Affairs. I have presented my research at a wide range of organizations, including the American Political Science Association, Harvard University, Princeton University, and Yale University. Funding for my research has been provided by the University of Pennsylvania, Yale University, and other organizations.
Teaching is a great passion of mine! At Yale, I have served as a graduate teaching fellow for six courses: Capitalism and Crisis, Introduction to American Politics (twice), Introduction to Comparative Politics, Introduction to Statistics, and Strategic Models of Politics. Throughout this teaching experience, I obtained Yale’s Teaching Certificate.
At Yale, I am a Lead Editor for the Yale Journal of Health Policy, Law, and Ethics, a Content Editor for the Yale Journal of International Affairs, and a Co-Coordinator for the Yale Institute for Social and Policy Studies Graduate Policy Fellows Program. In the spring of 2024, I was a Visiting Editor for Princeton’s Journal of Public and International Affairs.
I received a Bachelor’s of Business Administration at William and Mary as well as a Master’s of Public Administration at the University of Pennsylvania. Before starting the PhD program at Yale, I completed a Leadership Development Program at a Fortune 500 company called Amerigroup (now part of Elevance Health). I also served as the Faculty of Health Sciences Program Coordinator and Office of Undergraduate Studies Business Manager at Virginia Tech.
Contact:
Paul.Lendway@yale.edu