Lukas Alexander’s research centers on two key areas: the American presidency and rural politics.
American Presidency:
Studying the American presidency, Lukas' research explores the powers—and limits—of the modern executive, situating it within broader debates about accountability, representation, and the nationalization of politics. Drawing on a wide range of institutional and behavioral data, his work shows how presidents have become the central actors in the federal government and the core leaders of partisan politics. Under this lens, presidents wield a unique ability to act, while other institutional actors struggle to check them. His published research examines how presidential influence shapes legislative voting behavior, highlighting the commanding relationship of the executive over Congress. His ongoing projects investigate presidential influence over the federal bureaucracy, with particular attention to the partisan and electoral forces that structure how presidents deploy administrative power.
Rural Politics:
Lukas argues that place plays a crucial role in shaping how Americans perceive and engage with the political world. Recognizing place as a fundamental dimension of identity, he conducts extensive research on the political implications of place-based identity, with a particular focus on rural Americans. To do so, he combines observational and experimental data to examine how place shapes representation, political preferences, and voting behavior. His work demonstrates that, for rural Americans, political preferences and their relationship with government are not fixed but shaped by place-based factors—underscoring the dynamic role of place in American democracy.