He received his Ph.D. in Political Science from Texas A&M University. He previously served as a Fellow at the Center for Empirical Research in the Law at Washington University in Saint Louis. His research focuses on the formation of political preferences and the relationship between the public and political institutions. His research appears in the American Journal of Political Science, Journal of Politics, Public Opinion Quarterly, Political Psychology, Political Behavior, and Criminology. He is also a past recipient of the Warren E. Miller Scholarship and a Ford Foundation Fellowship.