Cassidy Reller 

Welcome!

I am an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the College of the Holy Cross. Prior to joining Holy Cross in 2026, I was an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Florida. I received my Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of California, San Diego in 2023. 

My research and teaching focus on American political institutions, with particular interests in political parties, legislative behavior, state politics, electoral institutions, public opinion, and immigration. Much of my research examines how political institutions and electoral rules shape party behavior, representation, and policymaking. My dissertation studied how minor parties in the United States use electoral threats to induce ideological and policy responses from the Democratic and Republican parties, and my current research extends these interests to topics including special elections, gubernatorial power, fusion voting, higher education funding, and partisan adaptation. My research has been published in The Journal of Politics, Legislative Studies Quarterly, Party Politics, Electoral Studies, and Publius: The Journal of Federalism. I also especially enjoy teaching research methods and research design, helping students develop the tools to ask clear questions, evaluate evidence, and conduct their own empirical research.

I am originally from Fremont, Nebraska. I received my B.A., with honors, from Lafayette College in Government and Law and Philosophy in 2016 and my M.A. in Political Science from UC San Diego in 2019. I now live in Somerville and am very happy to call the Boston area home. In my free time, I enjoy hiking, backcountry camping, kayaking, and generally being outdoors. I am also a dedicated and perennially heartbroken fan of the Minnesota Vikings and Minnesota Twins.