She received her PhD from Ohio State University and taught at Iowa State University and Colorado State University for several years before moving to UC. Professor Conger studies religion and politics, political activism, and state politics. Her research has been published in Perspectives on Politics, Party Politics, State Politics and Policy Quarterly, and Political Psychology. Her recent book, The Christian Right in Republican State Politics (Palgrave, 2009), examines the political goals and strategies of the state-level conservative Evangelical activists. She has been quoted in numerous national and international news outlets including NPR, The Kansas City Star, and the Times of India. Professor Conger is currently at work on a book about religiously motivated activism – on both the right and the left – in the 2008 election.