Kesley Townsend is pursuing a PhD in Political Science specializing in American Politics. Her research interests lie at the intersection of race and ethnic politics, gender, political behavior, and political psychology. Specifically, Kesley studies racial and gender identity formation, divergence in white women’s political behavior, intragroup and intergroup conflict, and status and identity threats. Her current projects include qualitative and quantitative studies exploring how diverging conceptualizations of white womanhood inspire divergent political behavior among white women, an empirical study of how gender concerns inspire racial illiberalism among white women, as well as a descriptive analysis of the use of identity threat appeals by political candidates over time.
Prior to graduate school, Kesley graduated from Brigham Young University in 2022 with a bachelor's degree in Political Science and minors in Political Strategy, Sociology, and History. After graduation, she worked at a D.C. consulting firm, on a U.S. Senate campaign, and as the Editorial Assistant for Political Behavior.