Catherine Wineinger

Catherine Wineinger is an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at Western Washington University. She focuses on political representation intersecting with gender, race, and partisanship. Prior to joining Western in 2020, she served as an APSA Congressional Fellow in Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib’s office and was a visiting scholar at the APSA Centennial Center. Her 2022 book Gendering the GOP examines Republican women’s representation in Congress. She earned her PhD from Rutgers University and a BA from the University of San Diego.

Research interests include American Politics, Gender Politics, and U.S. Political Institutions. Recent courses taught encompass political polarization, the presidency, women and politics, and representation theory. Her work bridges academic scholarship with policy engagement through congressional fellowship experiences and institutional analysis.

Publications span peer-reviewed journals like Politics & Gender and outlets such as The Monkey Cage (Washington Post), addressing topics like conservative women’s rhetoric, violence against women in politics, and intersectional identity claims in electoral campaigns. She actively contributes to discussions on gender dynamics within political parties and marginalized groups’ representation.