Matt Childers, Director of Research and Policy
Matt is a political scientist with expertise in political and social behavior, public opinion, survey research, government institutions, research design, and data analysis. He has over twelve years of experience conducting public opinion research on economic and health policy issues in national, state, and local elections. His research has been published in leading political science and medical journals including Political Behavior, Political Research Quarterly, the American Journal of Preventive Medicine and the Journal of Affective Disorders.

Matt works with partners on research and strategic efforts that will improve understanding of publicly funded health care programs, including Medicaid, Medicare, the ACA and CHIP and their impact in Florida.


Education

University of California, San Diego, Ph.D., Political Science, 2012

The University of Chicago, M.P.P., Specialization in Public Finance, 2002
    
The University of Chicago, B.A., Political Science, 2000


Publications

Peer-reviewed Publications

“Campaigns and the Mitigation of Framing Effects on Voting Behavior: A Natural and Field Experiment,” Political Behavior, http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11109-014-9292-2, with Michael Binder and Natalie Johnson, 2015.


"Population Health Concerns During the United States’ Great Recession.” American Journal of Preventive Medicine, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2013.10.008, with John W. Ayers, Benjamin M. Althouse, Jon-Patrick Allem, Carl Latkin, Kurt M. Ribisl and Mark Dredze, 2014.


“Engaged by the Initiative? How the Use of Citizen Initiatives Increases Voter Turnout." Political Research Quarterly, 2012, http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1065912910388191, with Michael Binder.


"Novel Surveillance of Psychological Distress During the Great Recession." Journal of Affective Disorders, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2012.05.005, with John W. Ayers, Benjamin M. Althouse, Jon-Patrick Allem, Waleed Zafar, Carl Latkin, Kurt M. Ribisl, and John S. Brownstein, 2012.


Other Publications

“The Differential Effects of Direct Democracy on Voter Turnout,” with Michael Binder, Chapman University Law Review, Vol. 19 (1): 35-59. http://www.chapmanlawreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/19-1_Childers.pdf, 2016.


Conference Presentations

“Are All Politics Local? Knowledge of National and Local Politics During a Municipal Election.” Presented at the 2016 Meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago, IL, April 2016, with Michael Binder and Colleen Hampsley


“Conditional Retrospective Voting in Presidential Elections: The Plight of the Incumbent Party Candidates in Open Seat Elections.” Presented at the 2015 Meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago, IL, April 2015


“Engaged by the Proposition? The Relative Effects of Citizen Initiatives and Referenda on Voter Turnout,” presented at the 2014 Meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago, IL, with Michael Binder


“Partisanship and Presidential Evaluations: A Closer Look at How Americans Evaluate Candidates,” presented at the 2013 Annual Meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago, IL, April 11-14.


“The Public’s Awareness of Vice Presidents and Their Policies in Successor Elections,” presented at the 2013 Annual Meeting of the Southern Political Science Association, Orlando, Florida, January 3-5 and at the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, New Orleans, LA, August 30-September 2, 2012.


“Campaigns and the Mitigation of Framing Effects on Voting Behavior,” 2012 Meeting of the Southern Political Science Association, New Orleans, LA (with Mike Binder and Natalie Johnson).


“Learning About Presidents in the Cable Era: How Americans are Aware of the President and His Policies Today as they were in the Golden Age of Television,” 2011 Meeting of the American Political Science Association, Seattle, WA


“It’s Not Always the Economy: How Foreign Policy Matters in Presidential Elections as Often as the Economy,” 2011 Meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association in Chicago, IL.


“Engaged by the Proposition: The Effects of Initiatives and Referenda on Voter Turnout,” 2011 Meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association in Chicago, IL (with Mike Binder).


“Engaged by Direct Democracy: The Effects of Initiatives and Referenda on Voter Turnout in the States, 1870-2008,” 2010 Meetings of the Western Political Science Association in San Francisco, CA, and the Midwest Political Science Association in Chicago, IL (with Michael Binder).


“The President as a Focal Point in Congressional Elections,” 2009 Meeting of the American Political Science Association, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.


“Presidential Campaign Intensity and Engagement in Congressional Elections,” 2008 Meeting of the American Political Science Association, Boston, MA.


“Targeted Political Advertising and Political Engagement,” 2008 Meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago, IL and the State Politics and Policy Conference, Philadelphia, PA, May, 2008 (with Samuel L. Popkin).


Media Appearances

Appeared as an elections and political behavior expert on The Chat (daytime talk show in Jacksonville), Action News 47/Action News 30, First Coast News, WJCT-FM’s First Coast Connect during his time as a professor at University of North Florida.


Professional Memberships

American Political Science Association

American Association of Public Opinion Researchers

American Association of Political Consultants