Staff profile

Neil's primary field of research relates to the politics of race and ethnicity in American politics.  Neil's published work has looked at the effect of race and ethnicity on political candidate evaluation, how American state legislators respond to immigrant constituents, the role of party fundraising networks in the US on representation of disadvantaged groups, and how voters evaluate candidate electability in primary elections.  Right now, Neil is working on a book project centred on how politicians can make effective appeals towards a more diverse electorate. 

In addition to his role at Durham, Neil holds an association with the American Politics Group (APG), UK.  Neil also serves as an editorial board member for the journal Political Behavior.

Neil Visalvanich joined Durham University as an Assistant Professor in Political Science in 2015.  In 2021, he was promoted to Associated Professor.  He received his Ph.D. from the University of California, San Diego in 2014. For the 2014-2015 academic year, he was a Visiting Assistant Professor at Bucknell Univerisity in Pennsylvania. 

Research Groups

• Centre for Institutions and Political Behaviour

• American Politics
• Electoral Politics
• The Politics of Race and Ethnicity

• 2016: Award: Asian Pacific Americans Association Best Paper Award, 2015 Western Political Science Association Annual Conference.
• 2015: Visiting Assistant Professor: Bucknell University

Journal Article

• ‘Good at math’: Andrew Yang, Asian Americans and racialized campaign rhetoric
  
  Johnson, R., & Visalvanich, N. (2025). ‘Good at math’: Andrew Yang, Asian Americans and racialized campaign rhetoric. Global Discourse: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Current Affairs, 15(2-3), 239-262. https://doi.org/10.1332/20437897y2025d000000055
• Perceptions of Electability: Candidate (and Voter) Ideology, Race, and Gender
  
  Hassell, H. J. G., & Visalvanich, N. (2024). Perceptions of Electability: Candidate (and Voter) Ideology, Race, and Gender. Political Behavior, 46(4), 2075-2098. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11109-023-09909-3
• Imperative Patriotism and Minority Candidacies: Examining the Role of Military Status in Racial Evaluations of South Asian Candidates
  
  Visalvanich, N., & Sriram, S. K. (2023). Imperative Patriotism and Minority Candidacies: Examining the Role of Military Status in Racial Evaluations of South Asian Candidates. Political Research Quarterly, 76(1), 44-59. https://doi.org/10.1177/10659129211069175
• Advantages, Challenges and Limitations of Audit Experiments with Constituents
  
  Bischof, D., Cohen, G., Cohen, S., Foos, F., Kuhn, P. M., Nanou, K., Visalvanich, N., & Vivyan, N. (2022). Advantages, Challenges and Limitations of Audit Experiments with Constituents. Political Studies Review, 20(2), 192-200. https://doi.org/10.1177/14789299211037865
• The Party’s Primary Preferences: Race, Gender, and Party Support of Congressional Primary Candidates
  
  Hassell, H. J., & Visalvanich, N. (2019). The Party’s Primary Preferences: Race, Gender, and Party Support of Congressional Primary Candidates. American Journal of Political Science, 63(4), 905-919. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajps.12461
• It’s All About Race: How State Legislators Respond to Immigrant Constituents
  
  Gell-Redman, M., Visalvanich, N., Crabtree, C., & Fariss, C. J. (2018). It’s All About Race: How State Legislators Respond to Immigrant Constituents. Political Research Quarterly, 71(3), 517-531. https://doi.org/10.1177/1065912917749322
• Primaries and Candidates: Examining the Influence of Primary Electorates on Candidate Ideology
  
  Nielson, L., & Visalvanich, N. (2017). Primaries and Candidates: Examining the Influence of Primary Electorates on Candidate Ideology. Political Science Research and Methods, 5(2), 397-408. https://doi.org/10.1017/psrm.2015.60
• Asian Candidates in America: The Surprising Effects of Positive Racial Stereotyping
  
  Visalvanich, N. (2016). Asian Candidates in America: The Surprising Effects of Positive Racial Stereotyping. Political Research Quarterly, 70(1), 68-81. https://doi.org/10.1177/1065912916674273
• When Does Race Matter? Exploring White Responses to Minority Congressional Candidates
  
  Visalvanich, N. (2016). When Does Race Matter? Exploring White Responses to Minority Congressional Candidates. Politics, Groups and Identities, 5(4), 618-641. https://doi.org/10.1080/21565503.2016.1146152
• Call to (In)Action: The Effects of Racial Priming on Grassroots Mobilization
  
  Hassell, H. J., & Visalvanich, N. (2015). Call to (In)Action: The Effects of Racial Priming on Grassroots Mobilization. Political Behavior, 39(4), 911-932. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11109-014-9297-x