David A. Hughes, Ph.D.
@davidhughesphd.bsky.social
Political scientist studying American law and courts, state politics, and southern politics | Coonhound dad | Southern highlander | https://davidhughesphd.com/
This is good. I've long argued the justices are *way* too comfortable. As a political scientist, though, I just don't find SCOTUS remotely interesting anymore. It's why I do state and lower courts research. Won't get me a ton of cites, but whatever. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/02/u...
Why The Times Is Expanding Its Supreme Court Coverage
www.nytimes.com
February 2, 2026 at 4:58 PM
This is good. I've long argued the justices are *way* too comfortable. As a political scientist, though, I just don't find SCOTUS remotely interesting anymore. It's why I do state and lower courts research. Won't get me a ton of cites, but whatever. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/02/u...
Louisiana is switching to closed primaries, but if you register "No Party" you can still request either party ballot at the polls (though in a runoff you can't switch). Can't say I really see the point, but went ahead and registered "No Party" (which is pretty accurate anyway).
February 2, 2026 at 4:29 PM
Louisiana is switching to closed primaries, but if you register "No Party" you can still request either party ballot at the polls (though in a runoff you can't switch). Can't say I really see the point, but went ahead and registered "No Party" (which is pretty accurate anyway).
I didn't move to the gulf coast to sit in my house wearing a coat because it's 25 degrees outside for some god-forsaken reason. We're on the same latitude as Riyadh for pete's sake, and their highs are in the mid 80s right now.
February 1, 2026 at 3:39 AM
I didn't move to the gulf coast to sit in my house wearing a coat because it's 25 degrees outside for some god-forsaken reason. We're on the same latitude as Riyadh for pete's sake, and their highs are in the mid 80s right now.
Getting serious now.
January 31, 2026 at 10:51 PM
Getting serious now.
It's been a week of good news. My review essay with Brent Boyea, Marcy Shieh, and Kayla Canelo on state courts research was accepted for publication at SPPQ. And my paper with Teena Wilhelm on institutions and the separation of powers was accepted at PRQ for publication. Hooray!
January 24, 2026 at 5:09 PM
It's been a week of good news. My review essay with Brent Boyea, Marcy Shieh, and Kayla Canelo on state courts research was accepted for publication at SPPQ. And my paper with Teena Wilhelm on institutions and the separation of powers was accepted at PRQ for publication. Hooray!
Tomorrow will be my favorite lecture day in my Southern Politics course where we discuss the fall-line, the lowland/highland divide, Appalachian orogenies, ancient sea deposits, and patterns that link such disparate topics as chalk, malaria, and Kamala Harris voters.
January 22, 2026 at 1:39 AM
Tomorrow will be my favorite lecture day in my Southern Politics course where we discuss the fall-line, the lowland/highland divide, Appalachian orogenies, ancient sea deposits, and patterns that link such disparate topics as chalk, malaria, and Kamala Harris voters.
Since we're back in the legislative session and in an election year, a reminder that I have ideological estimates for each member, WAR ratings, and more data on the Alabama Legislature here: davidhughesphd.com/alabama-poli.... #alpolitics
Alabama Politics by the Numbers
The Capitol building in Montgomery, Alabama. Original image from Carol M. Highsmith’s America, Library of Congress collection. Alabama Politics by the Numbers is devoted to exploring Alabama …
davidhughesphd.com
January 21, 2026 at 8:53 PM
Since we're back in the legislative session and in an election year, a reminder that I have ideological estimates for each member, WAR ratings, and more data on the Alabama Legislature here: davidhughesphd.com/alabama-poli.... #alpolitics
I've long thought that, eventually, Federalist 51 will have to kick in. Maybe--just maybe--we're starting to see some of that. thehill.com/homenews/sen...
thehill.com
January 20, 2026 at 2:36 PM
I've long thought that, eventually, Federalist 51 will have to kick in. Maybe--just maybe--we're starting to see some of that. thehill.com/homenews/sen...
I wanted to give my students a live, in-class poll where they choose which states are "southern" and it produces a heat map of the states on the board immediately. I asked Claude, and it built an entire web app in seconds. Just incredible.
January 19, 2026 at 11:42 PM
I wanted to give my students a live, in-class poll where they choose which states are "southern" and it produces a heat map of the states on the board immediately. I asked Claude, and it built an entire web app in seconds. Just incredible.
God I love it when Past-David had his crap together and prepped the heck out of a class for me. It was really conscientious of him.
January 19, 2026 at 10:46 PM
God I love it when Past-David had his crap together and prepped the heck out of a class for me. It was really conscientious of him.
Catching up with some of my favorite academic friends this weekend in New Orleans, and it reminded me that UGA has the best crew of judicial politics scholars in the country. Bar none. Can't believe it's been 10 years since I left you guys. Miss and love all y'all.
January 18, 2026 at 2:30 AM
Catching up with some of my favorite academic friends this weekend in New Orleans, and it reminded me that UGA has the best crew of judicial politics scholars in the country. Bar none. Can't believe it's been 10 years since I left you guys. Miss and love all y'all.
Had to take Bob Lincoln to the vet this morning for an ear infection. Those long, hound-dog ears are cute, but boy howdy are they prone to get infected.
January 15, 2026 at 4:14 PM
Had to take Bob Lincoln to the vet this morning for an ear infection. Those long, hound-dog ears are cute, but boy howdy are they prone to get infected.
Moodle has thoughts about my course syllabus, apparently.
January 15, 2026 at 1:08 AM
Moodle has thoughts about my course syllabus, apparently.
Classes start tomorrow. Reckon I ought to write these syllabi.
January 14, 2026 at 12:47 PM
Classes start tomorrow. Reckon I ought to write these syllabi.
I need one of y'all to come restrain me before I adopt this beautiful redbone coonhound.
January 14, 2026 at 12:22 AM
I need one of y'all to come restrain me before I adopt this beautiful redbone coonhound.
Tapped two kegs this week: A nut-brown that came out around 5.2% and a wee heavy in the 8.5% range. Both really great.
January 12, 2026 at 11:56 PM
Tapped two kegs this week: A nut-brown that came out around 5.2% and a wee heavy in the 8.5% range. Both really great.
I'm reminded of this on a near daily basis these days. smotus.substack.com/p/we-fking-w...
We f**king warned you
Looking back at the insurrection and the scholarship that foretold it
smotus.substack.com
January 12, 2026 at 4:50 PM
I'm reminded of this on a near daily basis these days. smotus.substack.com/p/we-fking-w...
Getting digital tools that measure things in thousandths of inches has been a woodworking revelation. I genuinely don't understand why folks work in units like 16ths or 32nds. This is so much easier.
January 11, 2026 at 6:45 PM
Getting digital tools that measure things in thousandths of inches has been a woodworking revelation. I genuinely don't understand why folks work in units like 16ths or 32nds. This is so much easier.
Based on the number of sirens I'm hearing, *all* of Lafayette must be burning to the ground. Or ISIS is here--one or the other.
January 11, 2026 at 12:14 AM
Based on the number of sirens I'm hearing, *all* of Lafayette must be burning to the ground. Or ISIS is here--one or the other.
Lol, yeah, that side hustle is also quiet quitting, fyi. If employers won't pay employees what they're worth, and if they're unwilling to reward hard work, say hello to doing the bare minimum to make money elsewhere. www.axios.com/2026/01/10/g...
Gen Z isn't quiet quitting. They're side hustling
Over half of Gen Z is taking on extra work as economic uncertainty grows.
www.axios.com
January 10, 2026 at 8:33 PM
Lol, yeah, that side hustle is also quiet quitting, fyi. If employers won't pay employees what they're worth, and if they're unwilling to reward hard work, say hello to doing the bare minimum to make money elsewhere. www.axios.com/2026/01/10/g...
This is why I tend to keep BS at a bit of a distance. It's just relentlessly dour. I'd wanted to reconnect with a lot of academics who left twitter, but this is not a recreation of that old space.
Please stop yelling at my friend @radiofreetom.bsky.social. This is a clarifying and encouraging thread, and if I were still an opinion editor, I'd ask him to expand it into a column for me.
I wonder what any of you would do differently in your lives if I said "yes, America is at this moment a fascist nation."
Because I tell ya what, if I thought so, I'd be doing things differently. For starters, I wouldn't bother worrying about elections or candidates or whom to support. /1
Because I tell ya what, if I thought so, I'd be doing things differently. For starters, I wouldn't bother worrying about elections or candidates or whom to support. /1
January 10, 2026 at 3:30 AM
This is why I tend to keep BS at a bit of a distance. It's just relentlessly dour. I'd wanted to reconnect with a lot of academics who left twitter, but this is not a recreation of that old space.
This was always the way this was going to end. I'd bet big money the administrators were informed they'd have to settle before they fired the professor and decided it was cheaper than ticking off the wrong politicians.
wach.com/news/local/f...
wach.com/news/local/f...
Clemson professor wins settlement after firing over Charlie Kirk post
An assistant professor at Clemson University will be back on the job after a social media post led to his firing.
wach.com
January 9, 2026 at 3:37 PM
This was always the way this was going to end. I'd bet big money the administrators were informed they'd have to settle before they fired the professor and decided it was cheaper than ticking off the wrong politicians.
wach.com/news/local/f...
wach.com/news/local/f...
How badly I wanted this book to be,called, "Oops, All Shaker."
January 8, 2026 at 3:10 AM
How badly I wanted this book to be,called, "Oops, All Shaker."
Changed out the blades on my miter and table saws for some quasi-fancy ones, and hot dog, these puppies cut wood as smooth as butter.
January 6, 2026 at 2:54 AM
Changed out the blades on my miter and table saws for some quasi-fancy ones, and hot dog, these puppies cut wood as smooth as butter.
Sure, but now that the deed is done, just wait for polarization to do its thing.
January 4, 2026 at 3:10 AM
Sure, but now that the deed is done, just wait for polarization to do its thing.