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Understanding the American voter: Goidel recognized for research excellence

What drives Americans to the polls, shapes their political beliefs and influences the choices they make on Election Day?

Exploring these questions has led Spencer Goidel, an assistant professor in Auburn University's Department of Political Science, to research that recently earned him a 2026 Emerging Faculty Creative Research and Scholarship Award. The award recognizes assistant professors who have demonstrated excellence in research, scholarship and creative contributions.

Goidel's curiosity about politics and human behavior began long before his academic career.

“I grew up in a family that is obsessed with college football and politics. Luckily for me, I don’t have an athletic bone in my body, so I got to pursue my love of politics,” he said.

That early interest led him to study political science. He earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and his doctorate in political science from Texas A&M University.

Today, Goidel studies the factors that influence how Americans vote, from the number of candidates on a ballot to how cultural attitudes and perceptions of the past shape political decisions.

“My approach to research is inductive,” Goidel said. “I observe something about American political behavior and ask myself: Why are people behaving this way? Under what conditions might they behave differently?”

His research has appeared in academic journals, including American Politics Research, Business and Politics and Research & Politics. In “The Trump Realignment,” Goidel and his co-author examine how Donald Trump's rise in American politics reflects longstanding differences between public opinion and the priorities of political leaders.

Beyond academic discovery, Goidel sees value in helping others better understand the political systems that shape American elections.

“I hope my work provides decision makers with more complete information about how voters navigate different political systems and respond to different political stimuli. They can make their own value judgments accordingly,” Goidel said.

At Auburn, Goidel contributes to the Institute for Election Administration Research and Practice, where he studies how elections are administered and how voters perceive the process. His work includes examining public perceptions of election officials and observing vote-counting procedures firsthand.

Through Auburn's partnership with the Election Center, he also teaches in the Certified Elections/Registration Administrator (CERA) program, working with election officials from across the country.

“While I'm teaching them about topics like the history of American elections or voter participation, they're teaching me about the day-to-day realities of election administration,” Goidel said. “It's a partnership in which I learn just as much as I teach.”

Goidel credits the support and collaboration of his Auburn colleagues with helping him grow as a scholar.

“Collaborating with my colleagues in the department has been, and continues to be, the highlight of my experience at Auburn University,” Goidel said.

That sense of community makes receiving the award particularly meaningful.

“This is by far the greatest honor I've received in my career, and I'm extremely grateful to have been chosen,” Goidel said. “So much of the recognition we receive in academia is individualistic. Having an article accepted or a book go under contract is exciting, but there's something different about being recognized by a community that you're just honored to be a part of in the first place.”

Learn more about the 2026 Creative Research and Scholarship Awards.

Tags: Political Science Faculty Research