Eric Hansen - Associate Professor of Political Science

About Me

I am an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at Loyola University Chicago. I received my Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2017.

I conduct research on the background experiences of public officials, representation, and policymaking in state legislatures and Congress. I also study on the relationship between educational attainment and voting. My work has appeared in a number of peer-reviewed journals including the American Political Science Review, the Journal of Politics, and Political Behavior. The section below lists my published work and select working papers, including links to articles, summaries, and replication data.

I teach courses on American politics and institutions. Farther below you'll find syllabi from my prepared courses.

Please contact me by email at ehansen4@luc.edu.

Research

Politicians' Backgrounds and Experience

Carnes, Nicholas, and Eric R. Hansen. 2016. "Does Paying Politicians More Promote Economic Diversity in Legislatures?" American Political Science Review 110(4): 699-716.
- Replication Data
- Short Summary: SSN Key Findings

Hansen, Eric R., Nicholas Carnes, and Virginia Gray. 2019. "What Happens When Insurers Make the Insurance Laws? State Legislative Agendas and the Occupational Makeup of Government." State Politics & Policy Quarterly 19(2): 155-79.
- Replication Data
- Short Summary: LSE USAPP Blog, SSN Key Findings

Hansen, Eric R., and Sarah A. Treul. 2021. "Inexperienced or Anti-Establishment? Voter Preferences for Outsider Congressional Candidates." Research & Politics 8(3): 20531680211034958.
- Replication Data

Treul, Sarah A., and Eric R. Hansen. 2023. "Primary Barriers to Working Class Representation." Political Research Quarterly 76(3): 1516-28.
- Replication Data

Hansen, Eric R., and Connor Mautner. 2024. "Job Talk: Candidate Gender and Presentation of Prior Experience in Television Ads in the US." Politics & Gender 20(4): 814-33.
- Replication Data

Hansen, Eric R., and Sarah A. Treul. 2025. "Prior Experience and State Legislative Effectiveness." Legislative Studies Quarterly. Forthcoming.
- Replication Data
- CEL Working Paper Series 2024-05

Representation in Legislatures

Hansen, Eric R., and Sarah A. Treul. 2015. "The Symbolic and Substantive Representation of LGB Americans in the U.S. House." Journal of Politics 77(4): 955-67.
- Replication Data

Hansen, Eric R., and Christopher J. Clark. 2020. "Diversity in Party Leadership in State Legislatures." State Politics & Policy Quarterly 20(1): 81-107.
- Replication Data

Saraceno, Joseph, Eric R. Hansen, and Sarah A. Treul. 2021. "Reevaluating the Substantive Representation of LGB Americans: A Multiverse Analysis." Journal of Politics 83(4): 1837-43.
- Replication Data

Hansen, Eric R. 2022. "White Constituents and Congressional Voting." American Politics Research 50(4): 564-82.
- Replication Data

Blasingame, Elise, Eric R. Hansen, and Richard Witmer. 2025. "Are Descriptive Representatives More Successful Passing Group-Relevant Legislation? The Case of Native American State Legislators." Political Research Quarterly 78(1): 308-22.
- Replication Data

Policy Reinvention and Diffusion

Jansa, Joshua, Eric R. Hansen, and Virginia Gray. 2019. "Copy and Paste Lawmaking: Legislative Professionalism and Policy Reinvention in the States." American Politics Research 47(4): 739-67.

Hansen, Eric R., and Joshua Jansa. 2021. "Complexity, Resources, and Text Borrowing in State Legislatures." Journal of Public Policy 41(4) 752-75.
- Replication Data

Educational Attainment and Voting

Hansen, Eric R., and Andrew Tyner. 2021. "Educational Attainment and Social Norms of Voting." Political Behavior 43(2): 711-35.
- Replication Data
- Short Summary: Political Behavior Blog

Hansen, Eric R., and Richard C. Witmer. 2021. "Growing Age and Education Gaps? The Evolution of Partisan Vote Choice among Religious Voters in the U.S., 2008-2018." Journal of Religion & Society. Special issue on "Religion and the New Politics," eds. Ronald A. Simkins and Zachary B. Smith. Supplement 23: 168-84.

Teaching

Undergraduate Syllabi

Graduate Syllabi

CV

Download

Contact

Location

Loyola University Chicago
Lake Shore Campus
1032 W. Sheridan Rd.
Chicago, IL 60660

Email

ehansen4@luc.edu

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