Jasmine Smith
Jasmine Smith
Assistant Professor of Political Science
Full-time
Contact:
Monroe Hall 440
Jasmine Smith is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at George Washington University. Dr. Smith studies American Politics with a focus on Race, Ethnicity, and Politics. Dr. Smith studies how racial and ethnic minorities make political decisions, how racial and ethnic minorities interact with elites and institutions, and how individuals’ political decision-making in primary elections is different than in general elections.
Her work has been published in the American Political Science Review, the Journal of Race, Ethnicity, and Politics, and Politics, Groups, and Identities. In her book manuscript, "Electability Politics: How Black Americans Choose Candidates in Democratic Primary Elections", Dr. Smith argues that Black Americans are highly strategic voters and vote for electable candidates. Through a series of observational and experimental tests, Smith shows that Black voters rely on considerations about electability to guide vote choice in primary elections.
Dr. Smith received the 2023 American Political Science Association's Best Dissertation Award in Race, Ethnicity, and Politics, and the 2026 Lucius Barker Award at the Midwest Political Science Association for the best paper on a topic investigating race, ethnicity, and politics. Her work has been funded by the National Science Foundation's Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant, Unite America, American University's New Perspectives in the Studies of American Governance Grant, and GWU's Institute for Data, Democracy, and Politics.
Behavior and identities, race and ethnic politics
Jasmine's work examines how Black American’s racial identity shapes political attitudes and behavior, and interactions with political institutions. Her dissertation project, “Electability Politics: How and Why Black Democrats Vote in Primary Elections” asks: How do Black Americans make voting decisions in primary elections? In the project, she states that Black Americans are highly strategic voters and vote for the candidate that is perceived to be the most electable.