Gary C. Jacobson

Gary C. Jacobson is Distinguished Professor of Political Science at the University of California, San Diego. Jacobson is recognized as one of the premier scholars in the study of Congressional campaigns and elections, having published numerous books and articles on the subject. His current research is on the electoral basis of partisan polarization in Congress. He is the author of Money in Congressional Elections; Strategy and Choice in Congressional Elections; The Politics of Congressional Elections; and The Electoral Origins of Divided Government. Money in Congressional Elections was named best publication for 1980 in the field of U.S. national policy by the American Political Science Association, and was given an award for making a distinguished contribution to the field by the Political Organizations and Parties section of APSA in 1991. He is also a frequent commentator on news programs and radio commentary such as NPR. He has served on the Board of Overseers of National Election Studies (1985-93), the Council of the American Political Science Association (APSA) (1993-94), APSA's Committee on Research Support, and as Treasurer of APSA (1996-97).