David Samuels

David Samuels is Distinguished McKnight University Professor of Political Science at the University of Minnesota. He received his Ph.D. from UC San Diego and researches Brazilian politics, democratization, and political inequality. His award-winning books examine voting behavior in Brazil and elite competition in unequal societies.

Samuels currently co-edits Comparative Political Studies and has published extensively on electoral politics and democratic institutions. His work combines quantitative methods with deep regional expertise to examine how inequality shapes political competition across democracies.

Research funding includes grants from the National Science Foundation and McKnight Foundation, along with multiple Fulbright Fellowships supporting fieldwork in Latin America. His graduate seminars focus on comparative research design and democratic theory.