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ANALYSIS: Democrats outnumber Republicans 5 to 1 at Buckeye State’s largest public universities
Democrat-voting political science professors outnumber their Republican peers by a ratio of 5 to 1 at five of Ohio’s largest public universities, according to a College Fix analysis of voter data.
Furthermore, The Fix could not identify a single professor who voted Republican at Ohio University, a public research institution in Athens.
The Fix analyzed political science departments, or their equivalents, at the five largest four-year public universities in the Buckeye State: Kent State University, Miami University, Ohio State University, Ohio University, and the University of Cincinnati.
The analysis looked at the most recent primary ballot pulled and used to determine political affiliation.
The review found 35 professors voted Democrat, 7 voted Republican, 36 were not listed — meaning there was no record of the professor pulling a primary ballot, but they were registered to vote — and the remaining 40 couldn’t be found.
This means for those professors with a determined political affiliation, 83 percent voted Democrat and 17 percent voted Republican.
The Fix reviewed 118 professors using primary data available for download through the Secretary of State’s office. Ohio determines a voter’s political affiliation based on the most recent primary ballot voted. The Fix used Grok to pull faculty names and then used a program called Anomaly AI to cross-check voter registration data against professors’ names.
When there were multiple names, The Fix manually cross-referenced birthdays and middle names against public information from curriculum vitae, LinkedIn, or other sources to determine matches. The Fix also manually checked the names of professors and ensured they were political science faculty.
The count does not include staff, emeriti, or adjuncts. For those who could not be found, it means there was no corresponding voter registration. The Fix primarily looked at the county where the university is located, but some professors could live outside the county, not be eligible to vote, or simply not have registered to vote.
Zero Republicans found at Ohio University
The greatest imbalance is at Ohio University, where zero Republican political scientists could be identified compared to nine Democrats. Four were not listed, and nine could not be found.
The Fix contacted department Chair Matthew Layton, but he did not respond to an email on Monday asking about the findings. He also did not respond to a voicemail left with the College of Arts and Sciences on Tuesday.
Ohio State University had 11 identifiable Democratic professors, but only three Republicans. Eight could not be found, while 18 were not listed.
The Fix reached out to all three Republican professors, but only one responded and declined to comment.
Marcus Kurtz, chair of the political science department, said he does not have “information on the partisan affiliation of voting behavior of our faculty.”
“This is not information that is relevant to any aspect of our departmental operation,” Professor Kurtz told The Fix via email.
Kurtz also said the school’s Civil Rights Compliance Office helps investigate any “instances of students being disadvantaged by any sort of political bias in political science classes.”
At Miami University, there were seven Democratic professors and two Republican professors identified. Two could not be found and four were not listed.
An anonymous professor at Miami University declined to comment because they are “semi-retired and mostly disconnected from the political environment of the campus.”
U. Cincy professor says his right-leaning views are respected
Seven Democrat professors were identified at University of Cincinnati compared to two Republican professors. Eight were not listed and 12 could not be found. The Fix analyzed the school’s School of Public and International Affairs, which offers the political science major.
One Republican professor, who voted Democrat in 2024, said he supports “individual rights, limited power of government, and personal responsibility.”
“I’m a mixture of both conservative and progressive values, and it’s not an easy place to be with as our national politics have become deeply polarized,” Professor Jeffrey Blevins told The Fix.
“I have voted for both Republicans and Democrats, but honestly, I’m not happy with either party. I prefer centrists on both the right and left,” the self-described “avid reader” of the College Fix said.
Asked about the political environment and any backlash he has faced for his views, Blevins said he has not faced pushback.
“Many of my colleagues know that I am pro-2nd Amendment, a concealed carry permit holder, and a gun enthusiast — as are several of my colleagues on both the right and left,” he said. “I’m Catholic and have some iconography in my office. It’s never been a problem.”
He said higher education must support free speech.
“Campuses have a wide array of political perspectives that are expressed in the public spaces, which is a good thing,” he said. “I believe in the First Amendment and free expression, even when I may disagree with the views of others that are freely expressed.”
Ohio findings match Democrat-heavy trend in Pennsylvania, Georgia
Miami University and University of Cincinnati’s political science chairs did not respond to emails and a voicemail left in the past two weeks. The Fix asked Professor Bryan Marshall, at Miami University, and Professor Stephen Mockabee, at University of Cincinnati, for comment on the imbalance in their departments.
Mockabee, currently the president of the campus American Association of University Professors, is a vocal opponent of building intellectual diversity centers at Ohio universities.
Kent State University only had one identified Democrat, zero Republicans, nine that could not be found, and two that were not listed.
The Ohio results are similar to other recent findings by The Fix.
The Fix found 84 Democrats but only three Republicans across six Pennsylvania universities, with four major campuses lacking a single identifiable Republican.
Moreover, Democrat political science professors outnumber their Republican peers by a nearly 6-to-1 margin among identified primary voters at Georgia’s four largest public universities, a Fix analysis found.
MORE: No identified Republican professors found in Georgia Tech’s public policy department
