Christopher Devine

• Ph.D., Political Science, The Ohio State University, 2011
• M.A., Political Science, The Ohio State University, 2008
• B.A., Government & English, Connecticut College, 2006

Christopher Devine is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Dayton. Devine earned his Ph.D. in Political Science from The Ohio State University in 2011. His dissertation, on ideological social identity, earned the Henry R. Spencer Award as the best dissertation in The Ohio State University’s Political Science Department for the 2010-11 academic year.

Devine is a leading expert on the American presidency and political campaigns. His books include I’m Here to Ask for Your Vote: How Presidential Campaign Visits Influence Voters (Columbia University Press, 2024) and Do Running Mates Matter? The Influence of Vice Presidential Candidates in Presidential Elections (University Press of Kansas, 2020). He is also co-editor of Second in Command: Reevaluating the Role of Vice Presidents and Running Mates in Modern American Politics (University of Michigan Press, 2026).

Public engagement on timely political topics is central to Devine’s scholarship. He has written about vice-presidential candidates and other topics for media outlets including The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Columbus Dispatch, Politico Magazine, NBC News, and FiveThirtyEight. Devine also contributes regularly to local, national, and international news coverages, including recent appearances on C-SPAN, NPR, NewsNation, MSNBC, CNN International, and BBC News.

At the University of Dayton, Devine teaches courses on The American Political System (POL 201), Political Science Research Methods (POL 207), Political Parties, Campaigns and Elections (POL 310), Public Opinion and Political Behavior (POL 311), and The American Presidency (POL 313). In each of these courses, Devine teaches students to question popular assumptions about politics and test their own ideas using scientific research methods.

"I want my students to be as fascinated by, and passionate about, politics as I am. Even more importantly, I want students to see the bigger picture — that what they learn inside of the classroom and apply outside of it should point toward the end-goal of vocation. Indeed, I hope they will find a purpose in their work that extends far beyond earning high grades or making money, to making a difference in the world that reflects each student’s unique, God-given talents and interests. I am blessed to teach at UD, because ours is a community that values and cultivates a spirit of vocation — among faculty and students, alike."

• POL 201: American Political System
• POL 207: Political Science Research Methods
• POL 310: Political Parties, Campaigns, & Elections
• POL 311: Public Opinion and Political Behavior
• POL 313: The American Presidency
• POL 411: Constitutional Law

• U.S. Presidency
• Campaigns and Elections
• Public Opinion
• Political Parties
• Constitutional Law
• Research Methods

Books

Second in Command: Reevaluating the Role of Vice Presidents and Running Mates in Modern American Politics (with Karine Prémont). 2026. University of Michigan Press.

I’m Here to Ask for Your Vote: How Presidential Campaign Visits Influence Voters. 2024. Columbia University Press.

Constitutional Law for Criminal Justice, 16th edition (with Jacqueline R. Kanovitz and Jefferson L. Ingram). 2023. New York: Routledge.

News Media Coverage of the Vice-Presidential Selection Process: What’s Wrong with the ‘Veepstakes’? 2023. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

Do Running Mates Matter? The Influence of Vice Presidential Candidates in Presidential Elections (with Kyle C. Kopko). 2020. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas.

The VP Advantage: How Running Mates Influence Home State Voting in Presidential Elections (with Kyle C. Kopko). 2016. Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press.

Journal Articles

“Did Vice-Presidential Candidates Decide the 2024 Presidential Election in Taiwan?” (with Yao-Yuan Yeh and Li-Yin Liu). 2026. Journal of Asian and African Studies.

“It Wasn’t Just the Economy, Stupid: How Calvin Coolidge Won the 1924 Presidential Election.” 2025. Presidential Studies Quarterly 55(3). 

“Public Moralities, Citizen Voices, and Disparate Fears” (with Richard K. Ghere). 2023. Public Integrity 25(6): 549-565.

“Did Gary Johnson and Jill Stein Cost Hillary Clinton the Presidency? A Counterfactual Analysis of Minor Party Voting in the 2016 US Presidential Election” (with Kyle C. Kopko). 2021. The Forum 19(2): 173-201.

“Closing the Gap: Collaborating with Research Librarians to Improve Information Literacy in the Political Science Classroom” (with Heidi Gauder and Michelle C. Pautz). 2021. Journal of Political Science Education.

“The Gender Citation Gap in Undergraduate Student Research: Evidence from the Political Science Classroom” (with Li-Yin Liu and Heidi Gauder). 2020. PS: Political Science and Politics.

“Bringing Voters Into the Equation: An Individual-Level Analysis of the Vice Presidential Home State Advantage” (with Kyle C. Kopko). 2019. Presidential Studies Quarterly 49(4): 827-854.

“Voter Mobilization 101: Presidential Campaign Visits to Colleges and Universities in the 2016 Election.” 2019. PS: Political Science and Politics 52(2): 261-266.

“What If Hillary Clinton Had Gone to Wisconsin? Presidential Campaign Visits and Vote Choice in the 2016 Election.” 2018. The Forum 16(2): 211-234.

“Ideological Social Identity: Psychological Attachment to Ideological In-Groups as a Political Phenomenon and a Behavioral Influence.” 2015. Political Behavior 37(3): 509-535.

“Social Issues, Authoritarianism, and Ideological Conceptualization: How Policy Dimensions and Psychological Factors Influence Ideological Labeling.” 2012. Political Psychology 33(4): 531-552.

“In the Eye of the Beholder: Motivated Reasoning in Disputed Elections” (with Kyle C. Kopko, Sarah M. Bryner, Jeffrey L. Budziak, and Steven Nawara). 2011. Political Behavior 33(2): 271-290.

Book Chapters

“The Most Important Vice-Presidential Pick Since… When? Kamala Harris, Mike Pence, and the 2020 (Vice) Presidential Election” (with Kyle C. Kopko). 2026. In Second in Command: Reevaluating the Role of Vice Presidents and Running Mates in Modern American Politics, eds. Karine Prémont and Christopher J. Devine. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.

“The Great Blue Hope: How Senator Sherrod Brown Won Reelection in Donald Trump’s Ohio.” 2025. In The Liberal Heartland: A Political History of the Postwar American Midwest, eds. Jon K. Lauck and Catherine McNicol Stock. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, pp. 330-346.

“A Big, Beautiful Award: Donald Trump and the Presidential Medal of Freedom” (with E. Fletcher McClellan and Kyle C. Kopko). 2024. In The Legacy of the Trump Administration: A Disruptive Presidency, eds. Michael Grossman, Francis Schortgen, Ronald Eric Matthews Jr., and David B. Cohen. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 167-185.

“The Libertarian Party.” 2020. In Beyond Donkeys and Elephants: Minor Political Parties in Contemporary American Politics, ed. Richard Davis. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, pp. 41-63.

“Fly-To County: The Midwest as Presidential Battleground, 1946-2016” (with Daniel R. Birdsong). 2020. In The Conservative Heartland: A Political History of the Postwar American Midwest, eds. Jon K. Lauck and Catherine McNicol Stock. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, pp. 72-94.

Public Scholarship

“Trump and Harris have picked their VPs. Do VPs make a difference?” 2024. Good Authority. August 15.

“Tim Walz is Kamala Harris’ running mate. Will he help her win in November? 2024. Los Angeles Times. August 6.

“Vance will hurt Trump’s reelection chances. Ohio junior senator isn’t ready to be VP.” 2024. The Columbus Dispatch. July 15.

“Veepstakes, Schmeepstakes. Focus on Who Can Govern.” 2024. Houston Chronicle. February 23.

“Three Myths About Presidential Campaign Visits: From Joe Biden’s Basement to Donald Trump’s Rallies.” 2024. Columbia University Press Blog. January 30.

“Trump-Biden Election Day Showdown Ends with Barrage of Campaign Stops. Does it Matter?” 2020. NBC News. November 3. 

“Do Vice-Presidential Picks Matter?” 2020. The Washington Post–Monkey Cage. August 13.

“Biden’s Choice of Running Mate Matters, But Not for the Reasons You May Think.” 2020. Los Angeles Times. April 12.

“Don’t Be Fooled – Most Independents are Partisans Too.” 2020. The Conversation. January 27.

“Holding Their Convention in Wisconsin Could Help Democrats in 2020. Here’s the Evidence.” 2019. The Washington Post – Monkey Cage. March 18.

“Can Florida’s Recount be Done Fairly? Maybe. Here’s What Makes the Difference” (with Kyle C. Kopko, Sarah M. Bryner, Jeffrey Budziak, and Steven P. Nawara). 2018. The Washington Post – Monkey Cage. November 16.

“Obama Has Set the Record for the Most Presidential Medals of Freedom” (with E. Fletcher McClellan, Kyle C. Kopko, Jillian E. Casey, and Julia L. Ward). 2016. The Washington Post – Monkey Cage. November 22.

“5 Things You Need to Know About How Third-Party Candidates Did in 2016” (with Kyle C. Kopko). 2016. The Washington Post – Monkey Cage. November 15.

“How Clinton and Trump Are Using Their Running Mates on the Campaign Trail” (with Kyle C. Kopko). 2016. FiveThirtyEight. October 28.

“Why VPs Matter Less than You Think” (with Kyle C. Kopko). 2016. Politico Magazine. April 11.