Chris Tausanovitch

Chris Tausanovitch is Professor of Political Science at UCLA, specializing in political representation, public opinion, and polarization. He earned his PhD from Stanford University (2013) and BA from New York University (2007). His research examines how constituency opinions influence elected officials' actions, with a focus on American democratic processes.

Research interests center on political representation dynamics, electoral politics, methodological innovation in political science, and the challenges of polarization in contemporary democracies. His work combines quantitative analysis with theoretical insights to study democratic responsiveness.

Publications show consistent focus on representation mechanisms, voter behavior, and polarization. Recent work analyzes how income inequality and geographic factors affect policy responsiveness, using advanced statistical modeling of large-scale survey data.

• Andrew Carnegie Fellow (2024)
• Democracy Fund & Klarman Family Foundation Grant
• UCLA Hellman Fellowship
• Kenneth L. Sokoloff Fellowship

Leads major research projects including Nationscape (500,000-survey study) and the American Ideology Project, producing publicly available datasets on political ideology across U.S. jurisdictions.