Erika Vallejo

Dr. Vallejo’s research focuses on American politics, with particular attention to descriptive representation, candidate emergence, and public opinion. She is especially interested in how race, ethnicity, gender, and class intersect to shape access to elected office and perceptions of political legitimacy. Her work explores the experiences of working-class and pink-collar candidates, the influence of occupational background on political representation, and voter attitudes toward underrepresented candidates. Dr. Vallejo uses a mixed-methods approach, drawing on interviews, observational data, and survey experiments.

Dr. Vallejo has taught or assisted in a range of American Politics courses, including Introduction to American Politics, Gender and Politics, The Presidency, Judicial Politics, Introduction to Political Analysis, and Special Topics in Political Science and Policy Research.

Vallejo, Erika, Amanda Flores, Angélica Ruvalcaba, and Dianey Leal. 2025. “Midwest Tejanas: Navigating entre mundos juntas.” In ¡Somos Tejanas! Chicana Identity and Culture in Texas, edited by Jodi Marin and Norma Cantú. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press.