With Theda Skocpol, Harvard University
To explain the distinct but intertwined popular and elite roots of Republican extremism in the United States, Skocpol draws on her research on the Tea Party, on the Koch political network, and on local developments in eight pro-Trump counties in non-big-city areas of North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Wisconsin. In that latter project, she is repeatedly visiting the study counties and conducting interviews with residents, local media, and community leaders to discover their reactions to political conflicts and policy shifts in the unfolding Trump presidency.