Michael S. Rocca

Professor

Director, Master of Public Policy Program

Photo: Michael Rocca
Email: 
msrocca@unm.edu
Phone: 
(505) 277-0016
Personal Website
 
Curriculum vitae
 
Office: 
SSCO 2043
Drop In Hours: 
SP26: Tuesday 9A-12P (or by appointment)
Education: 
PhD, University of California - Davis, 2004

Research Area/s:

American Politics,  Public Policy

Biography:

Professor Rocca received his Ph.D. in political science from the University of California, Davis in 2004. He is a Professor of political science at the University of New Mexico and Director of the UNM Master of Public Policy Program. Professor Rocca's subfield is American politics and his primary research and teaching interests relate to American institutions and money in politics. Most of his work deals with the politics of congressional position-taking and campaign contributions, respectively. Professor Rocca's work appears in The Journal of Politics, The Forum, Politics, Groups and Identities, Political Research Quarterly, Legislative Studies Quarterly, American Politics Research, Social Sciences Quarterly, Congress and the Presidency and PS: Political Science and Politics.

Professor Rocca is an award-winning instructor who teaches graduate and undergraduate courses on American politics, public policy, the US Congress, and the American presidency. He is a two-time recipient of the College of Arts and Sciences' Teaching Excellent Award (2010, 2023) and a recipient of UNM's inaugural Digital Literacy Innovation Award in 2021.

Research Interests

One common theme runs through Professor Rocca's entire research agenda: the nature of representation. It connects his main research agendas on (1) money in politics, (2) position taking in the U.S. Congress, (3) minority representation in Congress, and (4) institutional design. Money in politics relates to who is represented and why. The topic has taken on added significance as election costs skyrocket following the Supreme Court’s landmark 2010 Citizens United ruling. Position-taking is the most important way members of Congress provide representation to their constituents. Few questions are as timely and relevant in American politics as the value of descriptive representation, especially as America becomes more diverse and more minorities and women are elected to office. Finally, the design of institutions directly shapes the nature and quality of representation. In all, Professor Rocca's work appears in respected journals such as Journal of Politics, Political Research Quarterly, Legislative Politics, and The Forum.

Selected Publications

Michael S. Rocca, Wendy Hansen, and Miao “Alfred” Wang. 2025. “A Tale of Two Kingdoms: The Political Determinants of Corporate Social Responsibility.” Social Sciences Quarterly 106: e70065. https://doi.org/10.1111/ssqu.70065.

Michael S. Rocca and Miao “Alfred” Wang. 2025. “Congressional Position-Taking on Punitive Tariffs: President Trump’s 2018 Auto Tariff.” Business and Politics. Published Online, 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1017/bap.2024.40.

Gabriel Sanchez, Michael S. Rocca, and Mercedes Herrera. 2025. “Demographic Shifts and Public Attitudes Toward the January 6th Attack.” Journal of Race, Ethnicity, and Politics. 10: 129-151.

Michael S. Rocca, Timothy B. Krebs, and Dylan McArthur. 2023. “The Consequences of Legislative Professionalism in U.S. State Legislatures: A Review.” State and Local Government Review. 55: 235-258.

Michael S. Rocca, Gabriel Sanchez and Lisa Sanchez. 2022. “Re-examining the Relationship Between Latino Population Size and Position Taking on Latino Interests in the US House of Representatives.” Politics, Groups, and Identities. 11: 916-934.

Michael S. Rocca and Jared Clay. 2021. “Super PAC Spending in Congressional Elections.” The Forum. 19: 229-252.

Wendy Hansen and Michael S. Rocca. 2019. “The Impact of Citizens United on Large Corporations and Their Employees.” Political Research Quarterly. 72: 403-491.

Wendy L. Hansen, Michael S. Rocca and Brittany Ortiz. 2015. “The Effects of Citizens United on Corporate Spending in the 2012 Presidential Election.” Journal of Politics. 77: 535-545.

Michael S. Rocca and Stacy Gordon. 2013. “Earmarks as a Means and an End: The Link Between Earmarks and Campaign Contributions in the US House of Representatives.” Journal of Politics. 75: 241-253.

Michael S. Rocca, Gabriel Sanchez and Jason Morin. 2011. “The Institutional Mobility of Minorities in Congress.” Political Research Quarterly 64: 897-909.  Received Best Paper Award, Political Research Quarterly, 2011.

Michael S. Rocca and Stacy Gordon. 2010. “The Position-taking Value of Bill Sponsorship in Congress.” Political Research Quarterly 63: 387-397.

Michael S. Rocca. 2009. “9/11 and Presidential Support in the 107th Congress.” Congress and the Presidency 36: 272–295.

Michael S. Rocca, Gabriel Sanchez and Joseph Uscinski. 2009. “Congress and Foreign Policy: Congressional Action on the Darfur Genocide.” PS: Political Science and Politics 42: 489-496.

Michael S. Rocca, Gabriel Sanchez and Rongal Nikora. 2009. “The Role of Personal Attributes in African American Roll-Call Voting Behavior.” Political Research Quarterly 62: 408-414.

Michael S. Rocca and Gabriel Sanchez. 2008. “The Effect of Race and Ethnicity on Bill Sponsorship and Cosponsorship in Congress.” American Politics Research 36: 130-152.

Michael S. Rocca, Gabriel Sanchez and Joseph Uscinski. 2008. “Personal Attributes and Latino Voting Behavior in Congress.” Social Sciences Quarterly 89: 392-405.

Michael S. Rocca. 2007. “Non-Legislative Debate in the House of Representatives.” American Politics Research 35: 489-505.

Michael S. Rocca and Benjamin Highton. 2005. “Beyond the Roll Call Arena: The Determinants of Position Taking in Congress.” Political Research Quarterly 58: 303-316.

Michael S. Rocca. 2003. “Military Base Closures and the 1996 Congressional Elections.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 28: 529-550.

Other Writings

Michael S. Rocca and Gabriel Sanchez. 2025. "How America’s Increasingly Diverse Communities Shape Views of the January 6th Insurrection." London School of Economics US Centre daily blog on American Politics and Policy. Available at https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/2025/07/25/how-americas-increasingly-diverse-communities-shape-views-of-the-january-6th-insurrection/. 

Michael S. Rocca and Timothy Krebs. 2021. “A Report on Legislative Professionalism for the State of New Mexico.” Project funded by the Thornburg Foundation. 55 pages.

Wendy Hansen and Michael S. Rocca. 2019. “Worried About The Amount of Money in Politics? Don’t Blame Corporations or their Leaders.” London School of Economics US Centre daily blog on American Politics and Policy. Available at https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/2019/05/31/worried-about-the-amount-of-money-in-politics-dont-blame-large-corporations-or-their-leaders/

Michael S. Rocca, Sharif Amlani, Julia Hellwege and Lisa Sanchez, (with the Committee for Economic Development). 2016. "Crony Capitalism, Corruption, and the Economy in the State of New Mexico." With the Committee for Economic Development. Project funded by the Thornburg Foundation. 66 pages.

Service Interests/Experience

Professor Rocca currently serves as Director of UNM's Master of Public Policy Program. He previously served as the department of political science internship program coordinator from 2017-2023. He has served on the UNM Athletic Council since 2011 and served as its chair from 2017-2021. Professor Rocca served as director of the Political Science Honors Program from 2011-2016 and graduate advisor from 2014-2017. He is a longtime member of the selection committee for the Fred Harris Congressional Internship Program and UNM Truman Scholarship, and served on the College of Arts and Science's Strategic Planning Committee. Professor Rocca advises a number of student clubs and organizations, and mentors undergraduate research through programs such as the McNair Scholars Program, Mellon Mays Fellowship, and the POLS Honors Program. He continues to serve on multiple graduate comprehensive exam, thesis, and dissertation committees and review articles for prominent journals including the Journal of Politics, American Political Science Review, and American Journal of Political Science.