Raymond L. La Raja

The Changing Shape of the Parties Is Changing Where They Get Their Money

The New York Times  print

2019-09-18

A column about the changing ways that political parties raise money, quotes Ray J. La Raja who says it’s not too surprising that President Donald Trump has raised more money from small donors because Trump ignites the passions in individual donors.

What if Beating Trump Is the Easy Part?

The New Yotk Times  print

2020-10-21

"Ray La Raja, a political scientist at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, voiced the consensus view of the strategists and scholars I contacted: 'A Senate win is critical. Otherwise, we are back to a standoff between a Democratic President and Mitch McConnell'."

One place Trump gained in Mass.: heavily Latino cities

CommonWealth magazine  print

2020-11-05

UMass Amherst Professor Ray La Raja says Latinos often bring a perspective that can’t be pigeonholed into a clear ideological camp. “Latinos still support the Democratic ticket,” he said. But he said that doesn’t translate to uniform support for every position being advanced in the party. “When you have elements of the Democratic Party calling for defunding the police, that is the last thing people in some of these communities want to hear,” said La Raja.

2019-12-01

Jonathan Rauch and Ray La Raja

The major American parties have ceded unprecedented power to primary voters. It’s a radical experiment—and it’s failing.

2018-04-28

Raymond J. La Raja

"Democrats never agree on anything, that’s why they’re Democrats. If they agreed with each other, they’d be Republicans.” Much has changed since humorist Will Rogers said that in the 1930s, but he got it mostly right.

2018-01-22

Jesse H. Rhodes, Brian F. Schaffner, Raymond J. La Raja

What explains how political donors decide where to give? Existing research indicates that people donate money to express support for a preferred political “team” and enjoy the emotional benefits of participating in politics. While this explains why people donate, it does little to help understand the different strategies that donors may pursue.

2017-12-07

Jonathan Rauch and Raymond J. La Raja

Political analysts sometimes refer to the process by which candidacies emerge and test their viability as the "invisible primary": activities like candidate recruitment, training, networking, grassroots cultivation, and more.