Assistant Professor
Office: PGH 366
Email: mkistner@central.uh.edu
Phone: 713-743-2523

Research Interests

Legislative Studies
Representation
Money in Politics
Causal Inference
Computational Text Analysis

Biographical Summary

Michael Kistner is an assistant professor in the department of political science. Michael studies representation, policymaking, and the influence of money in American legislatures (both state and federal). His research analyzes how changes in the contemporary American political environment -- such as deepening polarization, the growing importance of money in politics, and the rise of social media -- affect politics in the 21st century. He is the author of Paying for the Party: How Fundraising Demands Lead to Less Productive and Less Representative Legislatures (University of Chicago Press). His work been published in the Journal of Politics, the Quarterly Journal of Political Science, Legislative Studies Quarterly, and elsewhere.

Education

Ph.D., Politics and Social Policy, Princeton University
B.A., Political Science, Illinois Wesleyan University

Selected Publications

Kaslovsky, Jaclyn and Michael Kistner. 2025. “Responsive Rhetoric: Evidence from Congressional Redistricting”. Legislative Studies Quarterly.

Hilden, David (UH PhD student) and Michael Kistner. 2025. "Promoting Conspiracy Theories Strategically". Quarterly Journal of Political Science.

Shor, Boris and Michael Kistner. 2024. “Comparing Leviathans: Agenda Influence in State Legislatures, 2011 to 2023”. Journal of Political Institutions and Political Economy.

Kistner, Michael. 2022. “Fighting for Majorities? Explaining the Development of Caucus Fundraising in American Legislatures”. Journal of Politics.

Canes-Wrone, Brandice and Michael Kistner. 2022. “Out of Step and Still in Congress? The Electoral Consequences of Incumbent and Challenger Positioning across Time”. Quarterly Journal of Political Science.