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Faculty in the Media

As you might imagine, our Political Science faculty get called upon frequently to contribute their expertise to local and national media outlets.  Did you catch these?

Sara Benesh

• Just how impartial are State Supreme Court justices? Associate professor Sara Benesh gave her take in the . As the 2025 Wisconsin Supreme Court election loomed, she also commented on partisanship and campaign spending in a different  article. 
• Sara Benesh spoke to  about the harms that could follow if state supreme courts are viewed as partisans entities.��

Kathleen Dolan

• Does a background in politics help or hinder a candidate? Distinguished Professor Kathleen Dolan weighed in on  and  analyze the impact of Democratic outreach across party lines. She was also quoted in an article in  that explored the gender gap in general political orientation, and in  about how reproductive policies can also impact men.  consulted Dolan to analyze the impact of Vice President Kamala Harris’ candidacy on the presidential race in 2024, and  sought her explanation for whether ballot drop boxes increase election turnout. 
• New election maps in Wisconsin mean that LGBTQ candidates running for state government likely face less partisan opposition than before, Kathleen Dolan said in an article by . 
• What would be the impact of former Congresswoman Liz Cheney’s endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris on the 2024 presidential race? Kathleen Dolan weighed in on . She also spoke on  about the importance of candidates motivating their bases to vote, and to  about Senator Baldwin receiving an endorsement from the Wisconsin Farm Bureau in the 2024 election. 
•  spoke to Kathleen Dolan about female political candidates’ increasing visibility in the United States. She also spoke to  about the political leanings of young people after the election, and was quoted by  about Trump’s efforts to appeal to young male voters in the 2024 election. 
• ������������Kathleen Dolan her opinion on what Judge Susan Crawford’s win of Wisconsin’s State Supreme Court race in spring 2025 meant about prevailing attitudes towards national politics.��

Kennan Ferguson

• Quotes from Professor Kennan Ferguson’s book Cookbook Politics were included in a  about how the stresses of parenting and household chores can impact the joy of cooking. 
• Do political yards signs make a difference in elections? Kennan Ferguson weighed in on  and spoke  regarding candidates’ need for a political record. He also spoke on how local elections are often overlooked in favor of national elections in the .��

Shale Horowitz

• Professor Shale Horowitz penned an article published by the  examining geopolitical threats to the democracy and free society of Taiwan. 

Joel Rast

• The  reported on a new study co-authored by Professor Joel Rast (Urban Studies) that examines environmental equity in Milwaukee. 

Faculty Accomplishments

�ʰ��Ǵڱ�����ǰ���Kennan Ferguson was selected as a Distinguished Scholar Fulbright for Charles University in Prague, the Czech Republic, to be taken in the spring of 2026.�� Ferguson is the first faculty member from 51���� to be named as a Distinguished Scholar. The awards “are viewed as the most prestigious appointments in the Fulbright Scholar Program,” according to Fulbright.��

Faculty Publications

Michael Hansen and Distinguished �ʰ��Ǵڱ�����ǰ���Kathleen Dolan. 2025. “Cross-Cutting Identities in American Politics: Gender, Party, and Attitudes on Gun Reform.” American Politics Research, 53(3).��.��