Her primary area of academic interest is American political behavior, with a focus on race, gender, and politics. For her dissertation research, she has been conducting and analyzing data from an original survey and a set of in-depth interviews about potential candidates’ expectations about politics, political campaigns, and serving in elective office. She has published articles, reports, and book chapters on women as candidates, black women in Congress, comparative child care policy, work/family conflict, abortion, feminism in the U.S. and internationally, gay and lesbian rights, and U.S. public opinion.