Jennifer A. Heerwig

 

Associate Professor
Ph.D. 2013, NYU
(631) 632-7714
Jennifer.Heerwig@stonybrook.edu
www.jenheerwig.com

Areas of Interest

My current research projects examine the political contributions of American corporate elites and the effects of new public financing initiatives on representation in local elections. 

Bio

My work uses innovative data sources and econometric methods to examine the American campaign finance system and political inequality more broadly.  I'm 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.  My work has been funded by the National Science Foundation and the Russell Sage Foundation.

Selected Publications

Book:

Heerwig, Jennifer A. and Brian J. McCabe. 2024. Democracy Vouchers and the Promise of Fairer Elections in Seattle. 2024. Political Lessons from American Cities series (edited by Richardson Dilworth), Temple University Press.

Articles:

Zhang, Yongjun and Jennifer A. Heerwig. Forthcoming. “Gender, Race, and Intersectionality in the Political Donations of America’s Corporate Elite.” The Sociological Quarterly.

Herrnson, Paul, Jay Goodliffe, Douglas Spencer and Jennifer A. Heerwig. 2023. “The Impact of Associational Ties on the Financing of Super PACs.” Interest Groups & Advocacy.

Zhang, Yongjun and Jennifer A. Heerwig. 2022. “Gender, Race, and Intersectionality in Campaign Cash to the U.S. Congress, 1990 to 2014.” Socius: Sociological Research for a Dynamic World. https://doi.org/10.1177/23780231221121063

Herrnson, Paul and Jennifer A. Heerwig. 2022. “The Super Women and Super Men Behind Super PACs: A New Source of Inequality.” The State of the Parties 2022: The Changing Role of American Political Parties, edited by John C. Green, David B. Cohen and Kenneth M. Miller. New York: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.

Heerwig, Jennifer A. and Brian J. McCabe. Forthcoming 2020. "High-Dollar Donors and Donor-Rich Neighborhoods.  Representational Distortion in Financing a Municipal Election in Seattle." Urban Affairs Review.

Heerwig, Jennifer A. and Joshua Murray. 2019. "The Political Strategies and Unity of the American Corporate Inner Circle: Evidence from Political Donations, 1982 - 2000." Social Problems 66(4): 580-608

Brian J. McCabe and Jennifer A. Heerwig. 2019. “Diversifying the Donor Pool: Did Seattle’s Democracy Voucher Program Help Reshape Participation in Municipal Campaign Finance?” Election Law Journal 18(4): 323-341. 

Heerwig, Jennifer A. and Katie Gordon. 2018. "Buying a Voice: Gendered Contribution Careers Among Affluent Political Donors to Federal Elections, 1980 - 2008." Sociological Forum 33(3): 805-825

Herrnson, S. Paul, Jennifer A. Heerwig and Douglas M. Spencer. 2018. "The Impact of Organizational Characteristics on Super PAC Financing." pp 248 - 262 in The State of the Parties: The Changing Role of Contemporary American Political Parties, edited by John C. Green, Daniel J. Coffey, and David B. Cohen. New York: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.

Heerwig, Jennifer A.  2018.  “Money in the Middle: Contribution Strategies among Affluent Donors to Federal Elections, 1980-2008.”  American Journal of Sociology 123: 1004-1063.

Heerwig, Jennifer A.  2016.  “Donations and Dependence: Individual Contributor Strategies in House Elections.”  Social Science Research 60: 181-198.

Heerwig, Jennifer A. and Katherine Shaw.  2014.  “Through a Glass, Darkly: The Rhetoric and Reality of Campaign Finance Disclosure.” Georgetown Law Journal 102: 1443-1500.

Conley, Dalton and Jennifer A. Heerwig.  2012.  “The Long-Term Effects of Military Conscription on Mortality: Estimates from the Vietnam-Era Draft Lottery.”  Demography 49: 841-855.

Heerwig, Jennifer A. and Brian J. McCabe.  2009.  “Education and Social Desirability Bias: The Case of a Black Presidential Candidate.”  Social Science Quarterly 90: 674-686.