Dr. Rachel Blum

Rachel Blum is an Assistant Professor in the Carl Albert Congressional Research and Studies Center and the Department of Political Science at the University of Oklahoma. She received her Ph.D. in 2016 from Georgetown University. Her research examines how political parties interact with and shape U.S. political institutions. She also specializes in political methodology, with a particular focus on computational methods to analyze large datasets, text-as-data and political networks.

In her book, How the Tea Party Captured the GOP: Insurgent Factions in American Politics (University of Chicago Press, fall 2020), Blum uses a variety of original datasets and analytic techniques to explain how a faction like the Tea Party was able to take over a major political party. Blum’s ongoing research projects examine the role of party factions in Congress, party nomination endorsements, primary contests, and amicus curiae networks. She has also published in outlets including Perspectives on Politics and PS: Political Science & Politics.

Blum plays an active role in the Center’s women’s leadership program and graduate program. She teaches the Center’s community engagement internship class, Community Scholars, as well as courses on American politics and political methodology in the Department of Political Science. Prior to her appointment at the University of Oklahoma, she held a faculty appointment at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.