State of the Parties: 2024 and Beyond Conference

7:30 a.m. - Conference Registration

Hilton Garden Inn, 1307 E. Market Street, Akron, OH, 44305

8:30 - 10:15 a.m. - State of the Parties 

Moderator: John Green, The University of Akron

• The Evolution of a Party System: Four Stops on the Road to 2025 | Paper 
  Byron Shafer, University of Oxford and University of Wisconsin, and Regina Wagner, University of Alabama 

• Evaluating American Democracy in 2025 through the Lense of Ranney and Kendall | Paper
  Rick Farmer, Southern Nazarene University, and Christopher H. Owen, Northeastern State University, Tahlequah

• What do Party Elites Think about Election Reform? | Paper
  Robert Boatright, Clark University, Karen Sebold, University of Arkansas, Eric Heberlig, University of North Carolina, Charlotte, Caroline J. Tolbert and Sami DeRagon, University of Iowa

10:15 a.m. - Break

10:45 - 12:15 p.m. - Party Factions

Moderator: Cherie Strachan, The University of Akron

• Factions among Major Party Elites
  Geoff Layman, Notre Dame University, John Green, The University of Akron, and Shay Hafner, University of Notre Dame

• Feeble Gatekeepers: Factional Insurgency and the Toppling of the Grand Old Party
  Zachary Albert, Brandeis University, and Raymond J. La Raja, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

• Insurgent and Consociational Factions and the Prospects for the Democratic Party
  Ronald B. Rapoport, College of William and Mary, and Andrew Engelhardt, SUNY-Stony Brook

• Factions and Parties in a Polarized Era
  Michael Ensley and Zach Morris, Kent State University

12:15 - 1:15 p.m. - Lunch

1:15 - 3:30 p.m. - State and Local Party Politics

Moderator: David Cohen, The University of Akron

• Coalition Change or Pocketbook Election? Evidence from Nevada in 2024
  Kenneth M. Miller, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

• What Happened to the “Blue Wall”? The Partisan Makeup of Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, 1992-2024 
  David A. Dulio, Oakland University, and Stephen K. Medvic, Franklin & Marshall College 

• Did the Democratic Party Abandon Rural America? Evidence from a Survey of Local Party Officials
  Daniel M. Shea, Colby College

• Shifting Allegiances: Trump and Muslim Voters in the 2024 Election
  Daniel Hummel, University of Louisiana at Monroe 

• The Organizational Structure of State Parties
  Doug Roscoe, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth

• State Democratic and Republican Political Party Chairs, 2015-2024
  Matthew J. Geras, University of Illinois Springfield 

5:30 p.m. - Reception

6:30 p.m. - Dinner

8:00 p.m. - Keynote Address

• Myth-Busting the Rural Voter: What Data Shows
  Daniel M. Shea, Colby College 

7:30 a.m. - Conference Registration

Hilton Garden Inn, 1307 E. Market Street, Akron, OH, 44305

CONCURRENT PANELS - Please choose one of the following:

8:15 - 10:00 a.m. - Party Resources

Moderator: Daniel Shea, Colby College

• Political Party Contacting in the 2024 Election
  Brian J. Brox, Tulane University

• Carpetbag Campaigning: How Parties Reshape Democracy by Redirecting Resources to Competitive Districts
  Hans Noel, Georgetown University

• The Trump Donor 2015-2024: Are They That Different from Other GOP Contributors and What Impact Will They Have on Partisan Fundraising?
  Andrew Dowdle, Joshua Mitchell, and Karen Sebold, University of Arkansas  

• The Impact of Organizational Characteristics on Super PAC Spending in Congressional Elections
  Paul Herrnson, University of Connecticut, and Jay Goodliffe, Bringham Young University 

8:15 - 10:00 a.m. - Party Constituencies

Moderator: Rick Farmer, Southern Nazarene University

• Diploma Divide, Rural Revolt, or Racial Realignment? Working-Class Partisanship in the Trump Era
  Michael E. Shepherd, University of Michigan

• The Polarized Type: Affective Polarization and Issue Polarization Among the Party-In-The-Electorate
  Jeremiah J. Castle, Metropolitan State University of Denver, J. Cherie Strachan, The University of Akron, and Kyla K. Stepp, Central Michigan University

• Bridging the Age Gap: Young Voters and the Future of the Democratic Party
  Patrick McSweeney, Georgetown University

• Requiem for College Republicans: Are Turning Point USA and Young Americans for Liberty Replacing the Establishment?  
  John C. Davis, University of Arkansas, and Drew Kurlowski, Coastal Carolina University  

• House Party: Patterns of Inter-generational Party Transmission 
  Daniel A. Smith, Olivia Zhang, Joselie Charles, Lara Adams, Samantha Cuenot, and Yugo Wang, University of Florida 

10:00 - 10:30 a.m. - Break

CONCURRENT PANELS - Please choose one of the following:

10:30 - 12:00 p.m. - Party Nominations

Moderator: John Green, The University of Akron

• Party Asymmetry in Competition in Presidential Nominations
  Caitlin E. Jewitt, Virginia Tech, and Gregory Shufeldt, University of Indianapolis 

• A Rent-Seeking Theory of Political Parties
  Wayne Steger, DePaul University 

• Differing Voter Criteria and Primary Polarization | Paper
  Barry C. Burden and Matthew Kim, University of Wisconsin-Madison

• Loyalty, Voice, and/or Exit Following a Loss: The Reactions of Overseas Democrats to the 2024 U.S. Elections
  James A. McCann, Purdue University, and Ronald B. Rapoport, College of William & Mary

10:30 - 12:00 p.m. - Major Party Alternatives

Moderator: Kenneth Miller, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

• Third Parties and the Future of U.S. Democracy: Examining 2024 Within a Historical Framework
  Bernard Tamas, Valdosta State University

• Does Partisanship Matter? Adoption and Implementation of RCV in Red and Blue Jurisdictions
  

  Jay Wendland, Daemen University

• Partisan Polarization and Menstrual Equity Policies in U.S. State Legislatures
  Sara Chatfield, University of Denver 

• Legislative Supermajorities and Direct Democracy: What is the Relationship Between Supermajority Legislatures and Citizen-Led Initiatives?
  Reynold F. Nesiba, Augustana University

12:00 - 2:00 p.m. - Lunch Speaker

• Elaine Kamarck, Center for Effective Public Management, Brookings