Leann Mclaren is a 2024 PhD in political science from Duke University with a certificate in African and African American studies. She is also a Provost Postdoctoral fellow at Johns Hopkins in the political science department. She studies race in American politics, focusing on Black political behavior, social identity, and immigration politics.
Mclaren’s work has been published in journals such as The American Political Science Review, the Journal of Race, Ethnicity and Politics, and Politics, Groups, and Identities. Her research has won multiple awards and grants from the American Political Science Association, the National Science Foundation, and the Russell Sage Foundation, among others.
Mclaren’s innovative book project delves into the strategies and perceptions of Black candidates with ‘invisible identities’, particularly immigrant identity, in political campaigns. This groundbreaking research involves the collection of the first known dataset of Black immigrant politicians elected in the US. Her unique approach combines content analysis and survey experiments to analyze these candidates’ identity strategies, potentially reshaping our understanding of political campaigns.
Mclaren’s book project showcases how Black candidates with “invisible identities” use strategies to maintain support from Black and white audiences and secure elections as historic firsts. Her other projects include mapping Black political behavior in the realms of social movements, identity, and political participation.