She received her Ph.D. in politics from New York University in 2005. Her research interests are in American politics, particularly in the areas of campaigns, mass electoral behavior, Latino politics, and racial/ethnic politics. She is the author of two forthcoming books: Campaigning to the New American Electorate: Television Advertising to Latinos (Stanford University Press) and New Faces, New Voices: The Hispanic Electorate in America (with R. Michael Alvarez) published by Princeton University Press. Her other work has been published in The Journal of Politics, Political Research Quarterly, American Politics Research and Political Behavior.