Tyler Simko

Thanks so much @stano.bsky.social !! Yes, will definitely post a public draft here when we have it ready.

At APSA 2025: Local Governments and Symbolic Representation In Event: Political Representation in Urban Politics Thu, September 11, 8:00 to 9:30am PDT Tyler Simko, University of Michigan Taran Samarth, Yale University

👀 Local governments often take "symbolic" stances on issues where they hold no authority or jurisdiction. @simko.bsky.social and Taran Samarth examine the dynamics and purpose of "symbolic representation" by studying the response of US local governments to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. #APSA2025

Echoing @mirya.bsky.social, thanks David!! We’re super grateful for your interest.

Trump’s proposed snap Census won’t get him the seats he wants A new Census would likely diminish political representation for Republican areas.

Trump’s proposed rush job Census isn’t just immoral and regressive—it will harm communities across the country and compromise data quality: @chriskenny.bsky.social and I in @thehill.com today:

thehill.com/opinion/camp...

Do you use tract boundaries in your research? Jake Brown, @simko.bsky.social, and I have a new working paper (osf.io/preprints/so...): Any Way You Slice It: Racial Segregation Statistics are Robust to Aggregation Bias

We show that tract-level segregation is robust to MAUP using simulation methods.

A bar chart showing the most important issue selected by all respondents (green bar) and parents (purple bar) All respondents w children Strongly disgree 5% 5% Disagree 19% 21% Agree 43% 41% Strongly agree 32% 33%

Among those who selected cell phones as most important issue, we asked their support for banning all cell phones

"shifts in political geography and gerrymandering reduced the number of highly competitive districts by over 25% [from 2010 to 2020], with geographic polarization driving most of the decline."

In our polarized political environment, I’m excited to share my new ASR publication: “Competence over Partisanship: Party Affiliation Does Not Affect the Selection of School District Superintendents”. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Great article, and a good example of the continuing value of public, open source research tools (we published these simulations in 2022). When new claims and arguments arise, anyone can use existing resources to examine them.

Thanks so much, and yes! Will shoot you an email now.

Thanks so much @sjacks26.bsky.social!! We’re really excited by this, really hoping the data can be useful for other things exactly like this.

Republicans are seeking to create a durable gerrymander in Texas Short-term tactical gains in Texas could ultimately yield a race to the bottom.

You may have noticed things are happening fast in the world of redistricting…

I along with @maxwellpalmer.com and @simko.bsky.social wrote an article last week (though published today) that analyzes the changes to the congressional district map in Texas, and particularly San Antonio.

Thanks for reading David!! What a nice surprise to hear from you. Hope all is well and we can catch up soon.

Texas was already arguably the biggest Republican gerrymander in the nation, according to this PNAS paper by @chriskenny.bsky.social @corymccartan.com @simko.bsky.social @shirokuriwaki.bsky.social www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1...

Measuring Conflict in Local Politics Mirya Holman1 , Rebecca Johnson2 , and Tyler Simko3

It’s publication day!!🎊 In a new Urban Affairs Review @urbanaffairsreview.bsky.social piece, Rebecca Johnson, Tyler Simko @simko.bsky.social & I ask: How do you measure conflict in local politics in the United States?
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

In Michigan, conspiracy thinking can be rooted in real historic harm Conspiracy thinking may result from paranoia or misinformation -- but it's often rooted actual harms and well-earned mistrust in government.

Is government suspicion based on real lived experiences and historic harm? #ISRNextGeneration scholar Franshelly Martinez-Ortiz writes on the case of Michigan, where events like the Flint Water Crisis give rise to lasting mistrust. @maraceci.bsky.social #MPSA2025 ➡️
cpsblog.isr.umich.edu?p=3434

A picture of a slide that says Tabling Debates how local officials use agenda control to Stifle Conflict Mirya Holman and Tyler Simko There are flames on the bottom of the slides

Had a fantastic time presenting Tabling Debates How Local Officials Use Agenda Control to Stifle Conflict (paper w @simko.bsky.social) at Cornell today. Huge thanks to @talbotmandrews.bsky.social for the invite and everyone for showing me such a good time!

Urban–rural cleavages are seen as a defining political divide. But does this polarization hold worldwide? My new working paper tests this question using an original dataset of granular, geocoded election returns from 106 countries (polling station-level in 70). (1/8)

This sounds amazing. The summary is like one of these Facebook targeted t-shirt ads, but aimed at my research interests.

Exploring Music with Bill McGlaughlin | WFMT Exploring Music is an adventure — an expedition through the world of classical music. We pick a theme each week and follow the music wherever it leads us.

Maybe not exactly what you're looking for, but online radio is great for this kind of thing (WQXR is really good). I like this show — every day has a theme (e.g. first masterpieces, a specific composer, concertos, etc.) which is fun for learning and making connections: www.wfmt.com/programs/exp...

Example of cli R package for status messages.

Yes! And compatible with emojis for when you really need that extra energy...

How can state and local government partnerships help to safeguard US official statistics when they are under assault? Find out in my @univpressofkansas.bsky.social book, "Counting Like a State".

Preorder for a 30% discount with code 24COUNTING here: kansaspress.ku.edu/9780700639687/

As a first-generation college student, I found it difficult to adjust to university academics and the “hidden curriculum.” How can universities help students ease this transition?

In a new RCT, we (Rebecca Johnson, Kosuke Imai) show “summer bridge” programs can be valuable tools: shorturl.at/WS9Kf

Woah, congrats Stefan! What a cool honor, and well deserved.

Abstract of article titled "The partisanship of mayors has no detectable effect on police spending, police employment, crime, or arrests"

Are Democratic leaders making cities more dangerous than Republicans? Trump + others have repeatedly made claims like this. New paper in Science Advances w/ @chriswarshaw.bsky.social, Dan Jones & Matt Harvey shows that, in short, the answer is no.

Oh excellent! Thank you.