Dr. Patrick Hickey

Biography

My research investigates how presidents build winning legislative coalitions in Congress. Contrary to conventional wisdom, presidents rarely pass their major initiatives with only partisan support. Presidents often need the support of opposition party members to offset “nay” votes from members of the president’s party, which are far more frequent than political scientists, pundits, and the American public realize. I analyze members’ votes from 1957 to the present and find empirical evidence that members’ voting behavior on the presidential agenda results from constituency influence and members’ electoral incentives. Normatively, this research finds that representation and democratic accountability are alive and well in the American political system. My research has been published in outlets such as Presidential Studies Quarterly and Congress & the Presidency.

Research Interest

My research has been published in outlets such as Presidential Studies Quarterly and Congress & the Presidency.