Danny Hayes

Assistant Professor, Political Science

Degree

Ph.D., University of Texas at Austin, 2006

Specialties

American politics, political behavior

Personal Website

http://faculty.maxwell.syr.edu/dwhayes

Publications

Forthcoming. "The Participatory Effects of Redistricting." American Journal of Political Science. (with Seth C. McKee)
 
Forthcoming. "The Dynamics of Agenda Convergence and the Paradox of Competitiveness in Presidential Campaigns." Political Research Quarterly.
 
Forthcoming. "A Matter of Distinction: Candidate Polarization and Information Processing in Election Campaigns." American Politics Research. (with Mathieu Turgeon)
 
2009. "Has Television Personalized Voting Behavior?" Political Behavior 31(2): 231-260.
 
2009. "Dixie's Kingmakers: Stability and Change in Southern Presidential Primary Electorates." Presidential Studies Quarterly 39(2): 400-417. (with Seth C. McKee)

Forthcoming. “Party Reputations, Journalistic Expectations: How Issue Ownership Influences Election News.” Political Communication.

2008. “Does the Messenger Matter? Candidate-Media Agenda Convergence and Its Effect on Voter Issue Salience.” Political Research Quarterly. Forthcoming.

2008. “Toward a One-Party South?” American Politics Research 36(1): 3-32. (with Seth C. McKee)

2005. “Candidate Qualities through a Partisan Lens: A Theory of Trait Ownership.” American Journal of Political Science 49(4): 908-923.

2005. “Voter Turnout in the California Recall: Where Did the Increase Come from?” American Politics Research 33(2): 187-215. (with Brian K. Arbour) 

Courses

Media and Politics

Campaign Analysis

American National Government and Politics

Public Opinion and Communication
 

Research Interests

My research in American politics focuses on the linkages between elite communications and mass political behavior, particularly in elections. As a former journalist, I am especially interested in the relationship between the media and politicians, and the influence of news coverage on citizen attitudes and behavior. I am also interested in the factors that shape voters’ perceptions of presidential candidates’ personality traits.

Research Projects

I am currently working on a project, partially funded by a National Science Foundation grant, that examines news coverage of issues during election campaigns and its influence on public opinion. Specifically, I explore the circumstances under which the media do, and do not, reflect candidates’ issue emphases—that is, the factors that make it more or less likely that journalists will pass along to the public what candidates actually say on the campaign trail. Also, I show that media coverage is more favorable to candidates when they talk about issues their party is perceived to “own”—national security for Republicans, for example, and social welfare for Democrats—than when they campaign on their opponent’s issue territory. Finally, using a series of laboratory experiments, I examine the effects of news coverage and candidate communications on the importance citizens ascribe to different political issues, something that can have important consequences for voting behavior.