rachel funk fordham
@rfunkfordham.bsky.social
public policy phd student @ uc berkeley | political & economic inequality, democracy policy, statistics
Reposted by rachel funk fordham
6/🧵 Why does conventional wisdom miss this? We confuse electoral swings with attitude changes. Gen Z shifted 6 points toward Trump in 2024, suddenly pundits say they're "the most conservative generation in 50 years." Only 42% of Gen Z voted. We mistake turnout shifts for ideological transformation.
November 14, 2025 at 8:44 PM
6/🧵 Why does conventional wisdom miss this? We confuse electoral swings with attitude changes. Gen Z shifted 6 points toward Trump in 2024, suddenly pundits say they're "the most conservative generation in 50 years." Only 42% of Gen Z voted. We mistake turnout shifts for ideological transformation.
Reposted by rachel funk fordham
A new @rooseveltinstitute.org report by @rfunkfordham.bsky.social empirically assesses the antidemocratic effects of Citizens United 15 years after it was decided.
The findings speak for themselves: there is no place for big money in our political system.
rooseveltinstitute.org/publications...
The findings speak for themselves: there is no place for big money in our political system.
rooseveltinstitute.org/publications...
Citizens United and the Decline of US Democracy: Assessing the Decision’s Impact 15 Years Later - Roosevelt Institute
In a new analysis, Rachel Funk Fordham examines the 15-year legacy of Citizens United, assessing its impact on democracy through new evidence and political science research and offering recommendation...
rooseveltinstitute.org
October 2, 2025 at 9:07 PM
A new @rooseveltinstitute.org report by @rfunkfordham.bsky.social empirically assesses the antidemocratic effects of Citizens United 15 years after it was decided.
The findings speak for themselves: there is no place for big money in our political system.
rooseveltinstitute.org/publications...
The findings speak for themselves: there is no place for big money in our political system.
rooseveltinstitute.org/publications...
Reposted by rachel funk fordham
New @rfunkfordham.bsky.social report on the 15th anniversary of Citizens United. The evidence is now clear, in part through Rachel's research, that CitUtd has:
-increased the influence of billionaires
-reduced state democratic performance
-made state governments more rightwing
-increased corruption
-increased the influence of billionaires
-reduced state democratic performance
-made state governments more rightwing
-increased corruption
NEW📝: A flood of billionaire money in elections started after the SCOTUS #CitizensUnited decision.
Since 2010, billionaire 💰💰 in elections has grown 160x, giving the wealthy huge power over policy while regular voters lose influence. 🧵1/3
Since 2010, billionaire 💰💰 in elections has grown 160x, giving the wealthy huge power over policy while regular voters lose influence. 🧵1/3
October 2, 2025 at 6:32 PM
New @rfunkfordham.bsky.social report on the 15th anniversary of Citizens United. The evidence is now clear, in part through Rachel's research, that CitUtd has:
-increased the influence of billionaires
-reduced state democratic performance
-made state governments more rightwing
-increased corruption
-increased the influence of billionaires
-reduced state democratic performance
-made state governments more rightwing
-increased corruption
Reposted by rachel funk fordham
The result of this ruling was outsized influence on legislators in passing policies that favor wealth. Reviving campaign-finance reform isn’t optional—it’s a prerequisite for a government that answers to people, not billionaires. 3/3
Read our new report ➡️ rooseveltinstitute.org/publications...
Read our new report ➡️ rooseveltinstitute.org/publications...
October 2, 2025 at 1:47 PM
The result of this ruling was outsized influence on legislators in passing policies that favor wealth. Reviving campaign-finance reform isn’t optional—it’s a prerequisite for a government that answers to people, not billionaires. 3/3
Read our new report ➡️ rooseveltinstitute.org/publications...
Read our new report ➡️ rooseveltinstitute.org/publications...
Reposted by rachel funk fordham
One hundred billionaire donors poured a record $2.6 billion into the 2024 elections—1 of every 6 dollars spent.
New analysis from @rfunkfordham.bsky.social on the last 15 years of #CitizensUnited’s impact on democracy. 2/3 rooseveltinstitute.org/publications...
New analysis from @rfunkfordham.bsky.social on the last 15 years of #CitizensUnited’s impact on democracy. 2/3 rooseveltinstitute.org/publications...
October 2, 2025 at 1:47 PM
One hundred billionaire donors poured a record $2.6 billion into the 2024 elections—1 of every 6 dollars spent.
New analysis from @rfunkfordham.bsky.social on the last 15 years of #CitizensUnited’s impact on democracy. 2/3 rooseveltinstitute.org/publications...
New analysis from @rfunkfordham.bsky.social on the last 15 years of #CitizensUnited’s impact on democracy. 2/3 rooseveltinstitute.org/publications...
Reposted by rachel funk fordham
NEW📝: A flood of billionaire money in elections started after the SCOTUS #CitizensUnited decision.
Since 2010, billionaire 💰💰 in elections has grown 160x, giving the wealthy huge power over policy while regular voters lose influence. 🧵1/3
Since 2010, billionaire 💰💰 in elections has grown 160x, giving the wealthy huge power over policy while regular voters lose influence. 🧵1/3
October 2, 2025 at 1:47 PM
NEW📝: A flood of billionaire money in elections started after the SCOTUS #CitizensUnited decision.
Since 2010, billionaire 💰💰 in elections has grown 160x, giving the wealthy huge power over policy while regular voters lose influence. 🧵1/3
Since 2010, billionaire 💰💰 in elections has grown 160x, giving the wealthy huge power over policy while regular voters lose influence. 🧵1/3
Reposted by rachel funk fordham
Where are we 15 years after SCOTUS sanctioned virtually unlimited campaign contributions from billionaires and large corporations? @rfunkfordham.bsky.social's new report analyzes how the Citizens United decision is corroding democracy on multiple fronts, and calls for renewed urgency for reforms.
One hundred billionaire donors poured a record $2.6 billion into the 2024 elections—1 of every 6 dollars spent.
New analysis from @rfunkfordham.bsky.social on the last 15 years of #CitizensUnited’s impact on democracy. 2/3 rooseveltinstitute.org/publications...
New analysis from @rfunkfordham.bsky.social on the last 15 years of #CitizensUnited’s impact on democracy. 2/3 rooseveltinstitute.org/publications...
October 2, 2025 at 3:13 PM
Where are we 15 years after SCOTUS sanctioned virtually unlimited campaign contributions from billionaires and large corporations? @rfunkfordham.bsky.social's new report analyzes how the Citizens United decision is corroding democracy on multiple fronts, and calls for renewed urgency for reforms.
Reposted by rachel funk fordham
July 26, 2025 at 9:23 PM
generational differences in political power, participation, & priorities can make it difficult to form future-oriented winning coalitions. that’s why I loved talking about intergenerational political learning in NYC for this @nytimes.com piece - it’s an incredibly hopeful story ⬇️
July 26, 2025 at 7:22 PM
generational differences in political power, participation, & priorities can make it difficult to form future-oriented winning coalitions. that’s why I loved talking about intergenerational political learning in NYC for this @nytimes.com piece - it’s an incredibly hopeful story ⬇️
Reposted by rachel funk fordham
🚨🚨🚨 The Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley is looking for a postdoc on US voting/election policy. Part of a partnership with the Brennan Center running the Voting Laws Roundup. (I have a feeling this work is gonna be important...)
Apply here: aprecruit.berkeley.edu/JPF04879
Apply here: aprecruit.berkeley.edu/JPF04879
July 21, 2025 at 7:19 PM
🚨🚨🚨 The Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley is looking for a postdoc on US voting/election policy. Part of a partnership with the Brennan Center running the Voting Laws Roundup. (I have a feeling this work is gonna be important...)
Apply here: aprecruit.berkeley.edu/JPF04879
Apply here: aprecruit.berkeley.edu/JPF04879
we could fret and stew and pontificate about why millions of voters who showed up for biden didn’t vote in 2024 orrrr we could just ask them
source: waytowin.docsend.com/view/rnv5spt...
source: waytowin.docsend.com/view/rnv5spt...
July 18, 2025 at 3:13 AM
we could fret and stew and pontificate about why millions of voters who showed up for biden didn’t vote in 2024 orrrr we could just ask them
source: waytowin.docsend.com/view/rnv5spt...
source: waytowin.docsend.com/view/rnv5spt...
Reposted by rachel funk fordham
Guess I didn’t realize it at the time (especially since Eric Levitz at Vox made it into another “dems must be centrist” take) but the recent Pew report argues strongly that turnout was more important than persuasion
www.pewresearch.org/politics/202...
www.pewresearch.org/politics/202...
July 7, 2025 at 9:08 PM
Guess I didn’t realize it at the time (especially since Eric Levitz at Vox made it into another “dems must be centrist” take) but the recent Pew report argues strongly that turnout was more important than persuasion
www.pewresearch.org/politics/202...
www.pewresearch.org/politics/202...
Reposted by rachel funk fordham
NYC's mayoral race just broke records with $25M in SuperPAC cash backing Cuomo—a poster child for corruption. Bad for democracy and the Dem brand.
@rfunkfordham.bsky.social's study shows how corrosive big $ is—states forced to allow unlimited money saw democracy scores plummet post-Citizens United.
@rfunkfordham.bsky.social's study shows how corrosive big $ is—states forced to allow unlimited money saw democracy scores plummet post-Citizens United.
June 24, 2025 at 7:24 PM
NYC's mayoral race just broke records with $25M in SuperPAC cash backing Cuomo—a poster child for corruption. Bad for democracy and the Dem brand.
@rfunkfordham.bsky.social's study shows how corrosive big $ is—states forced to allow unlimited money saw democracy scores plummet post-Citizens United.
@rfunkfordham.bsky.social's study shows how corrosive big $ is—states forced to allow unlimited money saw democracy scores plummet post-Citizens United.
nearly all my friends & family are non-democrats & infrequent voters. nearly all my friends & family participated in or supported the ‘no kings’ protests. there may be several potentially viable strategies for defeating trump, but this is by far the one I find most promising. ⬇️
“The old playbook will not yield the gains that we need to fight off this very, very serious threat to our democracy,” says @adambonica.bsky.social. wapo.st/3G1MNVy
Opinion | Democrats should try to be more interesting — not more centrist
Compelling candidates who run against the political establishment can save the Democratic Party from Trump.
wapo.st
June 23, 2025 at 6:04 PM
nearly all my friends & family are non-democrats & infrequent voters. nearly all my friends & family participated in or supported the ‘no kings’ protests. there may be several potentially viable strategies for defeating trump, but this is by far the one I find most promising. ⬇️
this is a really cool opportunity + you’d get to work w an incredible team of researchers, legal experts, and uc berkeley students who care about democracy. apply!!
🔥 alt-academic job at UC Berkeley running data collection & analysis for the Brennan Center's Voting Laws Roundup. Job involves collecting, handcoding, and ML/LLM modeling legislative text on voting laws, managing RAs, etc.
careerspub.universityofcalifornia.edu/psp/ucb/EMPL...
careerspub.universityofcalifornia.edu/psp/ucb/EMPL...
An error has occurred.
careerspub.universityofcalifornia.edu
May 6, 2025 at 10:20 PM
this is a really cool opportunity + you’d get to work w an incredible team of researchers, legal experts, and uc berkeley students who care about democracy. apply!!
Reposted by rachel funk fordham
Caroline Soler, Ansolabehere, & @bfschaffner.bsky.social: “Shor’s claims about young white women and men of color supporting Trump are simply not supported by the best public data available.”
tufts-pol.medium.com/have-young-v...
tufts-pol.medium.com/have-young-v...
Have young voters really abandoned the Democrats?
by Caroline Soler, Brian Schaffner, and Stephen Ansolabehere
tufts-pol.medium.com
April 19, 2025 at 12:50 AM
Caroline Soler, Ansolabehere, & @bfschaffner.bsky.social: “Shor’s claims about young white women and men of color supporting Trump are simply not supported by the best public data available.”
tufts-pol.medium.com/have-young-v...
tufts-pol.medium.com/have-young-v...
Reposted by rachel funk fordham
Here's Part 2 of 3 from me, @adambonica.bsky.social, @rfunkfordham.bsky.social, & @ernestotiburcio.bsky.social.
All the publicly available data suggests 2024 non-voters leaned Democratic and pro-Harris.
data4democracy.substack.com/p/did-non-vo...
1/n
All the publicly available data suggests 2024 non-voters leaned Democratic and pro-Harris.
data4democracy.substack.com/p/did-non-vo...
1/n
Did Non-Voters Really Flip Republican in 2024? The Evidence Says No.
Analysis of large-scale CES data shows registered non-voters retain a strong Democratic lean.
data4democracy.substack.com
April 10, 2025 at 5:30 PM
Here's Part 2 of 3 from me, @adambonica.bsky.social, @rfunkfordham.bsky.social, & @ernestotiburcio.bsky.social.
All the publicly available data suggests 2024 non-voters leaned Democratic and pro-Harris.
data4democracy.substack.com/p/did-non-vo...
1/n
All the publicly available data suggests 2024 non-voters leaned Democratic and pro-Harris.
data4democracy.substack.com/p/did-non-vo...
1/n
1/n as someone who loves democracy & loves my country, it’s hard to grapple w the fact that an anti-democratic candidate won a national popular election. one thing keeping me equal parts hopeful & frustrated is that there are more people in the US who do not support trump than people who do.
April 3, 2025 at 6:33 PM
1/n as someone who loves democracy & loves my country, it’s hard to grapple w the fact that an anti-democratic candidate won a national popular election. one thing keeping me equal parts hopeful & frustrated is that there are more people in the US who do not support trump than people who do.
Reposted by rachel funk fordham
9/🧵 Abandoning pro-turnout strategy based on a single analysis is premature. Understanding what happened requires grounding in data. Private polling can show patterns, but verifying such a massive political shift demands high-quality, publicly available data and replicable analysis.
April 2, 2025 at 1:57 AM
9/🧵 Abandoning pro-turnout strategy based on a single analysis is premature. Understanding what happened requires grounding in data. Private polling can show patterns, but verifying such a massive political shift demands high-quality, publicly available data and replicable analysis.
Reposted by rachel funk fordham
7/🧵 Our analysis of voter file data suggests the real story isn't about "more voters help Republicans" — it's about DIFFERENTIAL turnout. Republicans have been better at converting their registered voters into actual voters.
April 2, 2025 at 1:57 AM
7/🧵 Our analysis of voter file data suggests the real story isn't about "more voters help Republicans" — it's about DIFFERENTIAL turnout. Republicans have been better at converting their registered voters into actual voters.
Reposted by rachel funk fordham
5/🧵 For the "non-voters lean Republican" narrative to be true, Trump would need to win at least 73% of non-voting Independents in 2024 to have overcome the massive Democratic registration advantage among those who stayed home.
April 2, 2025 at 1:57 AM
5/🧵 For the "non-voters lean Republican" narrative to be true, Trump would need to win at least 73% of non-voting Independents in 2024 to have overcome the massive Democratic registration advantage among those who stayed home.
Reposted by rachel funk fordham
1/🧵 "More voters help Republicans" is reshaping Dem strategy after 2024. We put this claim to the test with a deep dive into voter files and survey data. Results? Non-voters remain disproportionately Democratic while GOP simply turns out their base better.
Does Higher Turnout Now Help Republicans? A Data-Driven Analysis of Partisan Turnout Dynamics (Part 1)
Data analysis reveals Democrats' problem isn't high turnout—it's losing the mobilization battle
open.substack.com
April 2, 2025 at 1:57 AM
1/🧵 "More voters help Republicans" is reshaping Dem strategy after 2024. We put this claim to the test with a deep dive into voter files and survey data. Results? Non-voters remain disproportionately Democratic while GOP simply turns out their base better.
Reposted by rachel funk fordham
Even as small donors flooded in, campaign finance inequality hit record highs in 2024. For the first time, the top 0.01% (1 in 10K voters) share exceeds 50% of $s. The top 400 donors now exceed 25%.
Citizens United opened the door, but soaring wealth inequality is what's driving these extremes.
Citizens United opened the door, but soaring wealth inequality is what's driving these extremes.
November 14, 2024 at 10:55 PM
Even as small donors flooded in, campaign finance inequality hit record highs in 2024. For the first time, the top 0.01% (1 in 10K voters) share exceeds 50% of $s. The top 400 donors now exceed 25%.
Citizens United opened the door, but soaring wealth inequality is what's driving these extremes.
Citizens United opened the door, but soaring wealth inequality is what's driving these extremes.
Reposted by rachel funk fordham
Important new paper on the effect of Citizens United on democratic institutions in the US.
tl;dr Citizens United meaningfully contributed to voter suppression & gerrymandering.
design: diff-in-diff & synthetic control
gated: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....
tl;dr Citizens United meaningfully contributed to voter suppression & gerrymandering.
design: diff-in-diff & synthetic control
gated: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....
January 26, 2024 at 12:26 AM
Important new paper on the effect of Citizens United on democratic institutions in the US.
tl;dr Citizens United meaningfully contributed to voter suppression & gerrymandering.
design: diff-in-diff & synthetic control
gated: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....
tl;dr Citizens United meaningfully contributed to voter suppression & gerrymandering.
design: diff-in-diff & synthetic control
gated: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....