Daniel J. Hopkins

Daniel J. Hopkins is the Julie and Martin Franklin Presidential Professor of Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania, with secondary appointments in the School of Engineering and Applied Science and the Annenberg School for Communication. His research focuses on American politics, emphasizing racial/ethnic politics, state/local governance, political behavior, and research methods. He also coordinates the Philadelphia Behavioral Science Initiative.

His work explores topics such as public opinion dynamics, policy feedback effects (e.g., the Affordable Care Act), and electoral behavior. Recent studies address cross-issue legislative compromises, Latino voter shifts toward the GOP, and the impact of racial self-identification on external classification. Hopkins has contributed to debates on immigration attitudes, voter ID laws, and the nationalization of political behavior.

He has published extensively in top journals and authored Stable Condition: Elites' Limited Influence on Health Care Attitudes (2023), analyzing the resilience of public opinion toward major policies like the ACA. His research integrates experimental methods, conjoint analysis, and longitudinal data to understand complex political phenomena.

Outside academia, Hopkins has written for FiveThirtyEight and engages in public discourse on current political issues, including Medicaid debates and U.S. election dynamics. His interdisciplinary approach bridges political science with computer science and communication studies.