Welcome!

I am a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Political Science at the University of California, Davis. I am also a Graduate Student Researcher at the UC Center Sacramento.

My dissertation focuses on the influence of money in politics. It explores whether out-of-district contributors distort representation between U.S. House members and their constituents.

My current work examines the reasons for COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the 2020 election, and vote-by-mail liberalization on turnout in the 2020 election. My past work explores gender in politics, cosponsorship, and congressional elections.

I am a proficient methodologist who utilizes a variety of tools in my scholarship including R, causal inference, network analysis, GIS, and web scraping.

In college, I worked in the offices of Senator Martin Heinrich and Representative Michelle Lujan Grisham.

I received my B.A. in political science from the University of New Mexico in 2015 and expect to graduate with my Ph.D. in 2022.

Outside of the office, I enjoy being outdoors; playing basketball, tennis, and golf with friends; and playing piano with my cats.

Thank you for visiting my website and feel free to reach out!

Contact Me:
Kerr Hall 661
Department of Political Science
University of California, Davis
samlani@ucdavis.edu