As the novel coronavirus has spread across U.S. cities and states, so have public policies aimed at stopping the pandemic. Batten's Craig Volden and co-author Charles R. Shipan examine how some states have learned from others’ policy successes, while others simply copy their neighbors or even compete against them, and why that matters.

Now that Super Tuesday is behind us, voters can look forward to another primary in the spring – this time for Congressional candidates. As a professor of public policy and politics at the Batten School and co-director of the Center for Effective Lawmaking, Craig Volden has studied what factors make for a successful candidate and drawn some conclusions about this state’s congressional delegation.

Join us for a discussion with National Journal politics editor, Josh Kraushaar. This event is co-hosted by the Center for Effective Lawmaking.

Candidates competing to represent Virginia’s largest congressional district

The non-partisan debate was moderated by Batten Professors Craig Volden and Gerald Warburg.

On Monday, Nov. 12, Batten students gathered in the Great Hall of Garrett Hall for a post-election wrap-up led by Batten’s Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL). This was not a typical Batten Hour with the exception that food was served. Rather, the event was reminiscent of a game of musical chairs. Every eight minutes, students moved to a new table, where CEL Director Craig Volden, Operations Director Greer Kelly, CEL researchers and interns, along with Professor of Practice of Public Policy Gerald Warburg, discussed the implications of last Tuesday's midterm election results.

The Batten School’s Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL), announced its first round of grant recipients. The Center, which launched in 2017, is a joint partnership between the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy and Vanderbilt University and is co-directed by Batten professor, Craig Volden and Vanderbilt professor, Alan E. Wiseman.

Minozzi and Volden advance the idea that a substantial portion of partisan voting activity in Congress is a simple call to unity that is especially easily embraced by ideological extremists. If correct, Minozzi and Volden’s findings should extend from the House to the Senate, despite differences in institutional structures and in tools at the disposal of party leaders across the two chambers. 

Justin H. Kirkland is a professor of politics and public policy at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy at the University of Virginia.  Kirkland specializes in American politics, legislative politics, and subnational politics. His research focuses on understanding the relationship between public opinion and legislative behavior, institutional rules and legislative outcomes, and methods for analyzing legislative choices.

Jennifer L. Lawless is the Leone Reaves and George W. Spicer Professor of Politics and professor of public policy at the University of Virginia and at the Batten School. Lawless is also a Senior Fellow at UVA's Miller Center. Her research focuses on political ambition, campaigns and elections, and media and politics.