Robert Griffin, PhD
Robert Griffin is a political scientist and Director of Research at Democracy Fund. His work bridges research and democracy, leading major studies on voter behavior, election analysis, public opinion, and strategic philanthropic data. He has co-managed large-scale projects, such as Nationscape, and led the Voter Study Group. Robert regularly shares insights with journalists, policymakers, grantees, funders, and the public.Prior to joining Democracy Fund, he served as the Associate Research Director at PRRI and the Director of Quantitative Analysis at the Center for American Progress. He has taught courses on research methodology, statistics, and public opinion at several universities. Robert holds a PhD in political science from George Washington University.
Media and Events
US Democracy Hub + Boom/Bust Cycle
National Conference on Citizenship (Dec 2024)
Coverage of Crisis of Confidence report
MSNBC (Jun 2021)
Our Changing Electorate
JFK Library Foundation (Oct 2021)
Vaccine hesitancy, immigration attitudes
Fox5 (Feb 2021)
American Confidence in 2020 Election
USA Today (Oct 2020)
America's Changing Electorate
Bipartisan Policy Center (Oct 2020)
How much Americans can trust the polls
Yahoo Finance (Oct 2020)
Pocketbook Voting + 2020 Election
Bloomberg - IA Caucus (Feb 2020)
Trump Impeachment
MSNBC (Jan 2020)
Gen Z Partisan Affiliation
MSNBC (Dec 2019)
Demographic Change and Future Elections
Bipartisan Policy Center (Apr 2018)
Story of Trump's Appeal
CATO (Jun 2017)
Publications
Pushed and Pulled: How Attitudes About Race and Immigration are Settling and Shifting After Trump
Democracy Fund - Aug 2024
Field in Focus: The State of Pro-Democracy Institutional Philanthropy
Democracy Fund - Oct 2023
Racing Apart: Partisan Shifts on Racial Attitudes Over the Last Decade
Voter Study Group - Oct 2023
Crisis of Confidence: How Election 2020 Was Different
Voter Study Group - Jun 2021
America’s Electoral Future: The Coming Generational Transformation
Democracy Fund - Oct 2020
Degrees of Change: Americans’ Shifting Views on Global Warming
Voter Study Group - Apr 2020
The Great Wide Open: Democrats Remain Divided on Candidates, United in Opposing Trump
Voter Study Group - Jan 2020
States of Change: How Demographic Change Is Transforming the Republican and Democratic Parties
Democracy Fund - Jun 2019
Two Years In How Americans’ Views Have — and Have Not — Changed During Trump’s Presidency
Voter Study Group - May 2019
In the Red: Americans’ Economic Woes are Hurting Trump
Voter Study Group - Sep 2018
Party Hoppers: Understanding Voters Who Switched Partisan Affiliation
Voter Study Group Dec 2017
Voter Trends in 2016: A Final Examination
Center for American Progress - Nov 2017
The First Six Months: How Americans are Reacting to the Trump Administration
Voter Study Group - Sep 2017
The Story of Trump's Appeal: A Portrait of Trump Voters
Voter Study Group - Jun 2017
States of Change: Demographic Change, Representation Gaps,and Challenges to Democracy, 1980-2060
Center for American Progress - Feb 2017
America’s Electoral Future: How Changing Demographics Could Impact Presidential Elections from 2016 to 2032
Center for American Progress - Feb 2016
States of Change: The Demographic Evolution of the American Electorate, 1974–2060
Center for American Progress - Feb 2015
Op-eds
Biden’s low poll numbers are exactly what we should expect
Washington Post - Aug 2022The losers always doubt election results. That reached a dangerous level in 2020.
Washington Post - Jun 2021Republicans want to make it much harder to vote. That strategy could backfire.
Washington Post - Mar 2021What really drove voters in 2020 elections? More time is needed for accurate answers
USA Today - Nov 2020Don’t trust the exit polls. This explains why.
Washington Post - Nov 2020Older voters could carry Biden to victory — and it’s not all about covid-19
Washington Post - Sep 2020High turnout among his base is unlikely to save Trump
Washington Post - Sep 2020Does Biden have a problem with African American voters?
Washington Post - May 2020Donald Trump’s problems with senior voters started long before the coronavirus
Washington Post - May 2020What’s driving the shutdown protests? It’s not economic pain.
Washington Post - May 2020Negative views of Asian people have risen in both parties
Washington Post - Apr 2020Why Trump’s approval bump isn’t helping him against Joe Biden
Washington Post — Mar 2020Americans have increasingly dismal views of the economy, but they don’t blame Trump
Washington Post - Mar 2020Who’s most electable? Don’t trust polls that match Democratic candidates against Trump.
Washington Post - Nov 2019Economic Anxiety Didn’t Elect Trump and It May Hurt His Party in the Midterms
New York Times - Oct 2018More states are registering voters automatically. Here’s how that affects voting.
Washington Post - Jun 2017