Jen Heerwig
Assistant Professor of Sociology, Stony Brook University
Areas of Expertise:
- American Democracy
- Social Issues
About Jen
Heerwig's research focuses on using innovative data sources and econometric methods to examine the American campaign finance system and political inequality more broadly. She is particularly interested in how individual donors allocate their monetary contributions in national elections and what these patterns tell us about how donor motivations have changed over time.
Contributions
Early Results — and Next Steps— for Seattle's Democracy Voucher Program
SSN Key Findings Brief,
Publications
"High-Dollar Donors and Donor-Rich Neighborhoods: Representational Distortion in Financing a Municipal Election in Seattle" (with ). Urban Affairs Review (2017).
Examines patterns of representational distortions in financing the 2013 municipal election in Seattle. Finds that campaigns are overwhelmingly funded by wealthy donors in a small subset of Seattle neighborhoods.
"Money in the Middle: Contribution Strategies among Affluent Donors to Federal Elections, 1980-2008" American Journal of Sociology 123, no. 4 (2018).
Traces the long-term evolution of partisan political contribution strategies.