Kathryn Pearson

Kathryn Pearson is an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Minnesota. Her research specializes in American politics, focusing on Congress, elections, political parties, and gender politics. She holds a Ph.D. from UC Berkeley and a B.A. from Claremont McKenna College.

Her research interests include party discipline strategies, legislative behavior, and gendered political dynamics. She combines quantitative analysis with elite interviews to examine how party leaders reward loyalty and punish defectors.

Pearson has received the Morse Alumni Award for teaching excellence and the Carl Albert Award for best dissertation. She previously worked as a Legislative Assistant on Capitol Hill and was a Research Fellow at the Brookings Institution.