Catherine Wineinger, PhD

she/her, Associate Professor

Office

Location

AH 422

Hours

M/W/F 11:30am-12:30pm or by appt.

Contact

Email

wineinc@wwu.edu

Phone

(360) 650-4877

About

Cathy Wineinger is an associate professor in the Department of Political Science. Her research explores political representation at the intersection of gender, race, and partisanship. She teaches courses in American politics, with an emphasis on identity politics and political institutions. Prior to joining Western in 2020, Dr. Wineinger worked on Capitol Hill as an American Political Science Association (APSA) Congressional Fellow in the office of Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib. She was also a visiting scholar at the APSA Centennial Center in Washington, DC. Her first book, Gendering the GOP: Intraparty Politics and Republican Women’s Representation in Congress was published in 2022 by Oxford University Press.

Dr. Wineinger earned her PhD in political science at Rutgers University, where she was also a graduate research assistant at the Center for American Women and Politics. She holds a BA in political science from the University of San Diego.

Research Interests

American Politics, Gender Politics, U.S. Political Institutions

Selected Publications

“More Republican Women Have Been Elected to Congress. But They Can Do Better.” The Gender Policy Report.
“House Republicans kept a woman in their third-highest post. What stops GOP women from climbing higher?” The Monkey Cage, The Washington Post.
“Republican women are becoming key party messengers. Here’s how it happened.” The Monkey Cage, The Washington Post.
“How do right-wing women advocate for increased representation within parties that reject identity politics?” British Politics and Policy Blog, London School of Economics.
“This inflammatory ad reveals why Republican women of color have a hard time getting elected.” The Monkey Cage, The Washington Post.

Wineinger, Catherine N. 2025. “Women Are Not a Voting Bloc: Why Democratic Appeals to White Republican Women Didn’t Widen the Gender Gap.” Critical Perspectives, Politics & Gender, 369-375.
Roberti, Amanda and Catherine N. Wineinger. 2024. "The Conquering Conservative: How White Feminism Has Fueled Conservative Women's Rhetoric." in Research Handbook on Feminist Political Thought (Eds. Mary Caputi and Patricia Moynagh), Edward Elgar Publishing.
Wineinger, Catherine N. 2023. "Addressing Violence Against Women in Politics: Reflections from an APSA Congressional Fellow." Politics & Gender, 19(3): 950-955.
Wineinger, Catherine N. 2022. Gendering the GOP: Intraparty Politics and Republican Women’s Representation in Congress. New York: Oxford University Press.
Wineinger, Catherine N. 2022. “A Conversation with Mary Hawkesworth on Intersectionality, Political Science, and Challenging the Discipline.” Journal of Women, Politics & Policy. 43(3): Women of Color Political Elites in the US, 401-408.
Wineinger, Catherine. 2021. “‘How Can a Black Woman Be a Republican?’ An Intersectional Analysis of Identity Claims in the 2014 Mia Love Campaign.” Politics, Groups, and Identities. 9(3): 566-588. (Online First 2019)
Wineinger, Catherine and Mary K. Nugent. 2020. “Framing Identity Politics: Right-Wing Women as Strategic Party Actors in the UK and US.” Journal of Women, Politics & Policy. 40(1): 91-118

CV

CV_2025August_0.pdf (341.33 KB)