Experts

Jennifer Lawless

Faculty Senior Fellow
UVA+CV+-+Jennifer+Lawless.pdf

Fast Facts

  • Chair, UVA Department of Politics
  • Author or co-author of nine books
  • Former editor of the American Journal of Political Science
  • Expertise on women and politics, campaigns and elections, political media

Areas Of Expertise

  • Domestic Affairs
  • Media and the Press
  • Governance
  • Elections
  • Politics

Jennifer L. Lawless is the Leone Reaves and George W. Spicer Professor of Politics at the University of Virginia and the chair of the Politics Department. She is also has affiliations with UVA’s Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy and the Miller Center.

Her research focuses on political ambition, campaigns and elections, and media and politics. She is the author or co-author of nine books, including News Hole: The Demise of Local Journalism and Political Engagement (with Danny Hayes) and It Takes More than a Candidate: Why Women Don't Run for Office (with Richard L. Fox). 

Lawless' research, which has been supported by the National Science Foundation, has appeared in numerous academic journals and is regularly cited in the popular press. From 2019-2025, Lawless served as the co-editor in chief of the American Journal of Political Science. She is also the recipient of the 2023 Shorenstein Center Goldsmith Book Prize, for the academic book that examines the intersection among media, politics, and public policy. 

Lawless graduated from Union College with a BA in political science and Stanford University with an MA and PhD in political science. In 2006, she sought the Democratic nomination for the U.S. House of Representatives in Rhode Island’s second congressional district. Although she lost the race, she remains an obsessive political junkie.

Featured Publications

It Takes More Than a Candidate
It Takes More Than a Candidate

Jennifer Lawless (coauthor)

News Hole
News Hole: The Demise of Local Journalism and Political Engagement

Jennifer Lawless (coauthor)

Women Men
Women, Men & US Politics: 10 Big Questions

Jennifer Lawless (coauthor)

Women on the Run
Women on the Run

Jennifer Lawless (coauthor)

Running From Office
Running From Office

Jennifer Lawless (coauthor)

Becoming a Candidate
Becoming a Candidate

Jennifer Lawless

It Still Takes a Candidate
It Still Takes a Candidate

Jennifer Lawless (coauthor)

It Takes a Candidate
It Takes a Candidate

Jennifer Lawless (coauthor)

Jennifer Lawless News Feed

Vox
Kamala Harris, Jill Biden, and the national embrace of stepmothers
Stepfamilies are an intricate and intimate arrangement, as any member can tell you. But in politics, thrusting these relationships into the spotlight is standard practice, says Jennifer Lawless, a politics professor at the University of Virginia. For candidates, family provides a logistical and psychological support system during the campaign. They also offer a humanizing effect — vouching that the candidate is a good and trustworthy person. “Voters want to hear from a family the kinds of things they wouldn’t hear from a surrogate,” Lawless says, including details about their past, their personal relationships, and their capacity for love. I think that’s why Trump’s use of his family has been so odd and jarring to people,” Lawless adds. “His children aren’t saying, ‘He’s a great father.’ They’re saying, ‘He’s such a great businessman.’”
Jennifer Lawless Vox
Vox
The double standards Kamala Harris may face at the debate, briefly explained
Meanwhile, University of Virginia political science professor Jennifer Lawless pointed to the vice presidential debate between Biden and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin in 2008 as one in which both candidates struck an effective tone. “Substance aside, she was quite likable in the debate, and he didn’t belittle her and demean her,” Lawless told Vox. Biden’s debate prep at the time focused heavily on “not coming across as sexist or a bully,” according to a Wall Street Journal report.
Jennifer Lawless Vox
Politico
‘Trump’s Strategy Is To Turn the Debates Into a Dumpster Fire on Steroids’
The first presidential debate may very well not be remembered for anything other than chaos and Donald Trump’s complete and utter disrespect for his opponent, the moderator, and the Presidential Debate Commission’s rules. In some ways, that’s understandable. Trump’s interruptions, personal insults and basic refusal to comply with the format made it difficult for viewers to focus on the substance of the candidates’ answers. But that’s a shame, because the debate made it clear that democracy is on the ballot in this election.
Jennifer Lawless POLITICO Magazine
HuffPost
Amy Coney Barrett Is Not A Feminist Icon
“Feminists support upholding Roe v. Wade. Amy Coney Barrett does not. Feminists support government policies to ensure equality and equity for women. Amy Coney Barrett does not. Feminists value the importance of affirmative action, environmental protection, and universal health care. Amy Coney Barrett does not,” said Jennifer Lawless, a political science professor at the University of Virginia. “Opposing a female nominee who is antithetical to feminist principles reflects a commitment to the cause."
Jennifer Lawless HuffPost
GoLocalProv
Presidential Debate Blunders - Epic Moments Can Change History
"I think if they both perform at expectation, it doesn’t matter that much — and expectations are low," said Jennifer Lawless, Chair of the Political Science Department at the University of Virginia and regular contributor on GoLocal LIVE.
Jennifer Lawless GoLocalProv
The Hill
Meet the first woman to run for president
“I think it did send a signal to political elites and members of our political institutions that this was an issue they would need to address,” said Jennifer Lawless, a politics professor at the University of Virginia. “Questions of women’s political inclusion were not only going to be about the right to vote.”
Jennifer Lawless The Hill