Political Science

Karra McCray Gibson is a fifth-year Ph.D. candidate in American Politics at Brown University. With research interests in race, gender and ethnic politics, legislative studies, and political behavior, her dissertation project presents a multidimensional analysis of Black representatives that challenges traditional theories of descriptive representation. More specifically, she argues that ideological differences among members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) are forging a transformation among the next generation of Black legislators and how they advocate for and engage with their constituents. 

Karra is a 2023 Ford Foundation Predoctoral Fellow and has received research grants and fellowships from the Ruth B. Mandel Dissertation Research Award, Brown University's Office of the Dean of the Faculty - Department of Political Science, and the Taubman Center for American Politics and Policy.

In addition to her academic studies, Karra is committed to producing work for public-facing audiences, evidenced by her past work with the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies and as an APSA Public Scholarship fellow.

Job Market Paper

From Alliance to Action: How Ideological Caucuses Influence Legislative Sponsorship for Congressional Black Caucus Members

Job Market Abstract

How does the ideological affiliation of Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) members influence their willingness to sponsor bills in areas of importance to Black constituents? Using a Poisson negative binomial regression analysis, I identify bills sponsored and co-sponsored by CBC members during the 110-117th congressional sessions to predict bill sponsorship in areas of importance to Black constituents. While I predict that those with membership in ideological caucuses will sponsor and co-sponsor more bills than those who choose not to join, membership in these caucuses only negatively affects the legislative productivity of members in caucuses whose goals vastly differ from the CBC.