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Caitlin E. Jewitt

Caitlin E. Jewitt, Associate Professor and Associate Department Chair

Caitlin E. Jewitt, Associate Professor
Caitlin E. Jewitt, Associate Professor and Associate Department Chair

Department of Political Science
522 Major Williams Hall (0130)
220 Stanger Street
Blacksburg, VA 24061
540-231-7544 | cjewitt@vt.edu

Dr. Jewitt is an associate professor in the Department of Political Science and the associate department chair.

Dr. Jewitt's research focus includes campaigns and elections, public opinion, political parties, and presidential primaries and caucuses. She is particularly interested in the institutional features of elections and their effects on voters, outcomes, candidates, candidate strategy, and political elites.

  • American Politics
  • Research Methods
  • Political Campaigns
  • Presidential Primary Elections
  • PhD, University of Minnesota
  • MA, University of Minnesota
  • BA, Hartwick College
  • American Political Science Association
  • Midwest Political Science Association
  • Design and Develop Award for PSCI 1014, TLOS: Learning Experience Design, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 2019.
  • Favorite Faculty Member, Housing and Residence Life Division of Student Affairs, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 2017.

Books

Jewitt, Caitlin E. 2019. "The Primary Rules: Parties, Voters, and Presidential Nominations." The University of Michigan Press.

Journal Articles

Jewitt, Caitlin E. and Gregory Shufeldt. 2021. “A Rigged Game? How Candidate, Partisan, and Electoral Factors Shape Elite Support for the Party Nomination Process." American Politics Research, 49(6): 681 - 694.

Jewitt, Caitlin E. 2021. “An Unconfident Public: Perceptions of the 2016 Presidential Nominations.” Presidential Studies Quarterly, 51(3): 522 - 545.

Jewitt, Caitlin E. 2020. "Restoring Trust and Reducing Perceived Influence: Superdelegates and the 2020 Democratic Nomination." Society, 57: 680-685.

Jewitt, Caitlin E. and Sarah A. Treul. 2019. “Ideological Primary Competition and Congressional Behavior.” Congress & the Presidency.

Jewitt, Caitlin E. and Paul Goren. 2016. “Ideological Structure and Consistency in an Age of Polarization.” American Politics Research, 44(1): 81 - 105.

Jewitt, Caitlin E. 2014. “Packed Primaries and Empty Caucuses: State and Party Rules and Voter Turnout in Presidential Nomination Contests.” Public Choice, 160(3-4): 295-312.

Jewitt, Caitlin E. and Sarah A. Treul. 2014. “Competitive Primaries and Party Division in Congressional Elections.” Electoral Studies, 35: 140-149.

Dwyer, Caitlin E. and Sarah A. Treul. 2012. “Presidential Influence, State-Level Approval, and Voting in the Senate.” American Politics Research, 40 (2): 355-379.

Dwyer, Caitlin E., Daniel Stevens, John Sullivan, and Barbara Allen. 2009. “Racism, Sexism, and Candidate Evaluations in the 2008 Presidential Election.” Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, 9 (1): 223-240.

Book Chapters

Jewitt, Caitlin E. 2023. “Iowa Dethroned: Diversifying the 2024 Democratic Nomination Calendar." In The Making of the Presidential Candidates 2024, edited by Jonathan Bernstein and Casey B.K. Dominguez. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, chapter 5, pp. 97-124.

Jewitt, Caitlin E. 2018. “Perception of the Parties and the 2016 Presidential Nominations.” In The State of the Parties 2018: The Changing Role of Contemporary American Political Parties. John Green, Daniel Coffey, and David Cohen, editors. Rowman and Littlefield.

Jewitt, Caitlin E and Sarah A. Treul. 2018. “Ideological Primaries and their Influence in Congress.” In Routledge Handbook of Primary Elections. Robert G. Boatright, editor. Routledge.

Jewitt, Caitlin E. 2014. “Republicans and Reform: The 2012 Presidential Nomination Rules.” In The State of the Parties, 7th edition. John Green, Daniel Coffey, and David Cohen, editors. Rowman and Littlefield.

  • Faculty Research Grant, College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences, Virginia Tech, 2023.
  • ISCE COVID-19 Reset Program: Connect, Contribute, Complete. "A Voter's Viewpoint: Assessing Citizen Understanding and Perception of U.S. Presidential Nominations." Institute for Society, Culture, and Environment, Virginia Tech, 2021 - 2022.
  • Niles Faculty Research Grant, College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, April 2016.

Featured Books