LSU Political Experts Available to Speak on Local, State and National Politics

From local elections to the debates and campaigns for the U.S. presidency, LSU has researchers available to talk about each issue being discussed or in general about these elections. LSU researchers available to speak are listed below by topic areas.

To schedule interviews, contact LSU Media Relations.

Constitutional Law/Supreme Court Appointments

Michael Coenen
Areas of Expertise: Constitutional law; federal courts; criminal procedure; administrative law.
LSU Law Center – assistant professor of law
225-578-8701
michael.coenen@law.lsu.edu
Ray Diamond
Areas of Expertise: Constitutional law; race relations; legal history
LSU Law Center – Jules F. and Frances L. Landry Distinguished Professor of Law and James Carville Alumni Chair
225-578-8846
ray.diamond@law.lsu.edu
James Stoner
Areas of Expertise: Political theory; English common law; American constitutionalism
Political Science – professor
225-578-2538
poston@lsu.edu

Crime

Ed Shihadeh
Areas of Expertise: Crime and criminology; demography
Department of Sociology – professor and chair
225-578-1635
edsoc@lsu.edu

Economy

Leonard M. Apcar
Areas of Expertise: U.S. economic policy, Federal Reserve interest rate decisions
Switzer Chair and Professional in Residence in the Manship School
225-587-2216
lenapcar@lsu.edu
Daniel Brent
Areas of Expertise: Environmental economics; water resource economics; applied econometrics; experimental economics; transportation; public finance; policy evaluation; energy economics
Department of Economics – assistant professor
dbrent@lsu.edu
Brian Marks
Area of Expertise: Immigration and the economy; research focuses on political geography, agrarian political economy, political ecology, fisheries and aquaculture; electoral redistricting, the Voting Rights Act, citizenship, foreign policy and geopolitics
Department of Geography & Anthropology – assistant professor of geography
225-578-6077
bmarks@lsu.edu
Joseph Mason
Areas of Expertise: Financial intermediation and economic growth, with special emphasis on financial innovation and the role it plays in financial expansions as well as financial crises.
Department of Finance – professor 
225-578-6255 
masonj@lsu.edu
James Richardson
Areas of Expertise: Regional economics; energy economics; state and local taxation; forecasting; public policy
Public Administration Institute – professor; Department of Economics – professor
225-578-6745
parich@lsu.edu

Education

Roland Mitchell
Areas of Expertise: History of U.S. higher education; the experiences of underrepresented populations in post-secondary education; school-to-prison-pipeline issues; and university to community outreach/relational issues
College of Human Sciences & Education – interim dean and professor
225-578-2156
rwmitch@lsu.edu

Energy/Oil and Gas

David Dismukes
Area of Expertise: Analysis of economic, statistical and public policy issues in energy and regulated industries
LSU Center for Energy Studies – executive director
225-578-4343
dismukes@lsu.edu
John Russin
Areas of Expertise: Renewable energy; sustainable bioproducts and biofuels; Agriculture – LSU LSU AgCenter – vice president
225-578-4880
JRussin@agcenter.lsu.edu

Environment

Chris D’Elia
Areas of expertise: Nutrient dynamics in aquatic systems; estuarine ecology; coral reef ecology; algal/invertebrate symbiosis; science history and policy; math and science education; marine pollution; global climate change; analytical chemistry
College of the Coast & Environment - dean and professor
225-578-7188
cdelia@lsu.edu
Margaret Reams
Areas of expertise: Environmental policy and management; resilience; sustainability
Department of Environmental Sciences - professor
225-578-4299
mreams@lsu.edu
Robert Twilley
Areas of Expertise: Coastal and environmental issues including land loss and storm surge; seafood industry support
Louisiana Sea Grant College Program executive director and LSU Department of Oceanography & Coastal Sciences professor
225-578-6710
rtwilley@lsu.edu

General Election

Leonard M. Apcar
Areas of Expertise: Political journalism, media criticism, campaign communication, social media strategy.
Switzer Chair and Professional in Residence in the Manship School of Mass Communication
225-587-2216
lenapcar@lsu.edu
Nichole Bauer
Areas of Expertise: the barriers that female candidates face in running for and winning elected office; the role gender stereotypes play in voter evaluations of female candidates, the campaign strategies female candidates develop to overcome such biases and how the news media cover female candidates
Political Science & Manship School of Mass Communication – assistant professor
nbauer4@lsu.edu
Robert “Robbie” Hogan
Areas of Expertise: American electoral politics; campaigns; political parties & interest groups and state politics
Political Science – professor
225-578-3217
rhogan1@lsu.edu
James Honeycutt
Areas of Expertise: The effects of political partisanship on voting intentions; psychology and political ideology
Communication Studies – professor
225-578-0032
sphone@lsu.edu
Lyman Hunt
Area of Expertise: Political ideology
Communication Studies – senior instructor
225-578-5989
lhunt@lsu.edu
Nancy Isenberg
Areas of Expertise: Gender and politics, cultural and legal history in the U.S.; Author of "White Trash. The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America"
Named to Politico's Top 50 Guide to the thinkers, doers and visionaries transforming American Politics
History, T. Harry Williams Professor
225-578-4492
nisenberg@lsu.edu
Nathan Kalmoe
Areas of Expertise: Voting & elections, public opinion, political news & advertising, partisanship/ideology & polarization, political violence
225-578-8013
nkalmoe@lsu.edu

Immigration

Lauren R. Aronson
Area of Expertise: U.S. immigration law and unaccompanied immigrant children - director of Immigration Law Clinic and assistant professor of professional practice
225-578-2071
lauren.aronson@law.lsu.edu
Brian Marks
Area of Expertise: Immigration and the economy; research focuses on political geography, agrarian political economy, political ecology, fisheries and aquaculture; electoral redistricting; the Voting Rights Act; citizenship; foreign policy; and geopolitics
Department of Geography & Anthropology – assistant professor of geography
225-578-6077
bmarks@lsu.edu

International Policy

Brian Marks
Area of Expertise: Immigration and the economy; research focuses on political geography, agrarian political economy, political ecology, fisheries and aquaculture; electoral redistricting; the Voting Rights Act; citizenship; foreign policy; and geopolitics
Department of Geography & Anthropology – assistant professor of geography
225-578-6077
bmarks@lsu.edu

Mass Media/Political Communication

Leonard M. Apcar
Areas of Expertise: Political journalism, media criticism, campaign communication, social media strategy.
Switzer Chair and Professional in Residence in the Manship School of Mass Communication
225-587-2216
lenapcar@lsu.edu
Nichole Bauer
Areas of Expertise: the barriers that female candidates face in running for and winning elected office; the role gender stereotypes play in voter evaluations of female candidates, the campaign strategies female candidates develop to overcome such biases and how the news media cover female candidates
Political Science & Manship School of Mass Communication – assistant professor
nbauer4@lsu.edu
Joshua Darr
Areas of Expertise: Campaign strategy, earned media, presidential primaries, field offices, voter contact
Manship School of Mass Communication – assistant professor
225-578-0395
jdarr@lsu.edu
Mike Henderson
Areas of Expertise: Public Opinion and election
Public Policy Research Lab research director
mbhende1@lsu.edu
Nathan Kalmoe
Areas of Expertise: Voting & elections, public opinion, political news & advertising, partisanship/ideology & polarization, political violence
225-578-8013
nkalmoe@lsu.edu
Robert Mann
Area of Expertise: Political history; political communication
Manship School of Mass Communication – Manship Chair and professor
225-578-2053
bobmann@lsu.edu
Ofer Mintz
Areas of Expertise: Marketing analytics, marketing strategy, political marketing, and digital marketing (social media)
Department of Marketing – assistant professor
225-578-8321
omintz@lsu.edu
Kathleen Searles
Areas of Expertise: News media; campaign advertising; political psychology
Political Science/Manship School of Mass Communication –associate professor

Race Relations

Lori Martin
Areas of Expertise: Race and ethnicity relations; demography; racial wealth inequality; asset poverty; race and sports
Department of African & African American Studies and Sociology – professor
225-578-1785
lorim@lsu.edu
Bryan McCann
Areas of Expertise: Race, racism and criminal justice; primary and general election debates; and how campaigns structure arguments
Communication Studies
225-578-6813
504-330-8166
bryanm@lsu.edu
Roland Mitchell
Areas of Expertise: History of U.S. higher education; the experiences of underrepresented populations in post-secondary education; school-to-prison-pipeline issues; and university to community outreach/relational issues
College of Human Sciences & Education – interim dean and professor
225-578-2156
rwmitch@lsu.edu

Women and Gender

Nichole Bauer
Areas of Expertise: the barriers that female candidates face in running for and winning elected office; the role gender stereotypes play in voter evaluations of female candidates, the campaign strategies female candidates develop to overcome such biases and how the news media cover female candidates
Political Science & Manship School of Mass Communication – assistant professor
nbauer4@lsu.edu
Summer Steib
Areas of Expertise: Women and gender
LSU Women's Center, director
225-578-7563
summers@lsu.edu