Blog – Center for Effective Lawmaking

The Legislative Success of “Giant Killers” in the U.S. House

The Legislative Success of “Giant Killers” in the U.S. House Monday, November 3, 2025In modern congressional elections, fewer than 10% of candidates who run against sitting members of Congress win and yet they comprise as much as 30% of the House in any given congress. In this forthcoming paper in Political Science Quarterly, Sean Theriault, Professor at The University of Texas at Austin and Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) Faculty Affiliate, along with Jared Hrebenar and Isabel Reyna, examine the legislative effectiveness of those relatively rare challengers who knock off incumbents.…

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November 3, 2025

Announcing the Release of the 82nd Nevada General Assembly State Legislative Effectiveness Scores (SLES)

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State Legislative Effectiveness Scores / State Legislatures

Announcing the Release of the 82nd Nevada General Assembly State Legislative Effectiveness Scores (SLES)

Announcing the Release of the 82nd Nevada General Assembly State Legislative Effectiveness Scores (SLES) The Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) is proud to announce the release of our State Legislative Effectiveness Scores (SLES) for the 82nd Nevada General Assembly (2023–2024). This initiative is part of our broader effort to measure the lawmaking effectiveness of individual legislators in all 99 state legislative chambers in the United States.These scores capture lawmaking effectiveness by tracking the number of bills legislators sponsor, how far those bills advance through the legislative process, and the substantive…

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October 31, 2025

Conversations with Lawmakers

Discussing Effective Lawmaking with Representative Soto

Discussing Effective Lawmaking with Representative Soto Congressman Darren Soto has built a distinguished career in public service through his dedication to environmental stewardship, economic opportunity, and representation for Florida’s communities. A Democrat representing Florida’s 9th Congressional District since 2017, Congressman Soto made history as the first person of Puerto Rican descent elected to Congress from Florida. Before his time in Washington, he served in both the Florida House of Representatives and the Florida Senate, where he championed bipartisan efforts to strengthen disaster preparedness, expand access to higher education, and protect…

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October 28, 2025

State Legislative Effectiveness Scores / State Legislatures

Announcing the Release of the 2023-2024 California State Legislature State Legislative Effectiveness Scores (SLES)

Announcing the Release of the 2023-2024 California State Legislature State Legislative Effectiveness Scores (SLES) The Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) is proud to announce the release of our State Legislative Effectiveness Scores (SLES) for 2023-2024 California legislative session This initiative is part of our broader effort to measure the lawmaking effectiveness of individual legislators in all 99 state legislative chambers in the United States.These scores capture lawmaking effectiveness by tracking the number of bills legislators sponsor, how far those bills advance through the legislative process, and the substantive significance of…

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October 23, 2025

Center Affiliates / Events / Faculty Affiliates

CEL at APSA 2025

CEL at APSA 2025 Tuesday, October 21, 2025Between September 11-14, the Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) attended the annual American Political Science Association (APSA) conference in Vancouver, Canada titled “Reimagining Politics, Power, and Peoplehood in Crisis Times”. The event allowed for more than 5,000 political scientists, scholars, and experts across the discipline to participate and showcase their works to the broader audience, with panels and presentations that included the following from CEL affiliates (and others):Accountability in Darkness: The Effects of Local Media Closures on Legislators – Kisoo Kim (University of Virginia)Congressional…

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October 21, 2025

About the CEL / Board of Advisors

Meet our new Advisory Board Member: Jill Tolles

Meet our new Advisory Board Member: Jill Tolles Monday, October 13, 2025The Center for Effective Lawmaking is excited to welcome Jill Tolles to our Board of Advisors.Tolles is the Executive Director of the Kenny Guinn Center for Policy Priorities. She has taught at the University of Nevada since 2005, where she received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Communication Studies. She is also on the faculty of the National Judicial College, where she teaches courtroom management, collaborative decision-making, and procedural fairness to judges from around the nation and the world.Prior to…

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October 13, 2025

State Legislative Effectiveness Scores / State Legislatures

Announcing the Release of the 103rd Illinois General Assembly State Legislative Effectiveness Scores (SLES)

Announcing the Release of the 103rd Illinois General Assembly State Legislative Effectiveness Scores (SLES) The Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) is proud to announce the release of our State Legislative Effectiveness Scores (SLES) for the 103rd Illinois General Assembly (2023–2024). This initiative is part of our broader effort to measure the lawmaking effectiveness of individual legislators in all 99 state legislative chambers in the United States.These scores capture lawmaking effectiveness by tracking the number of bills legislators sponsor, how far those bills advance through the legislative process, and the substantive…

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October 8, 2025

Legislative Anaylsis / Legislative Research

The (Sometimes Untraceable) Origins of Policy Ideas in Congress: An Analysis of Seven Landmark Laws

The (Sometimes Untraceable) Origins of Policy Ideas in Congress: An Analysis of Seven Landmark Laws Research on lawmaking suggests legislative enactments are constructed in various ways. Although multiple approaches are documented in the literature, political scientists do not conclusively know which are used more often. In this paper published in Legislative Studies Quarterly – which was supported by a small grant award from the Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) – Jeremy Gelman, Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Nevada, Reno, examines how laws are created by studying seven modern…

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October 7, 2025

State Legislative Effectiveness Scores / State Legislatures

Announcing the Release of the 207th Pennsylvania General Assembly State Legislative Effectiveness Scores (SLES)

Announcing the Release of the 207th Pennsylvania General Assembly State Legislative Effectiveness Scores (SLES) The Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) is proud to announce the release of our State Legislative Effectiveness Scores (SLES) for the 207th Pennsylvania General Assembly (2023–2024). This initiative is part of our broader effort to measure the lawmaking effectiveness of individual legislators in all 99 state legislative chambers in the United States.These scores capture lawmaking effectiveness by tracking the number of bills legislators sponsor, how far those bills advance through the legislative process, and the substantive…

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October 1, 2025

Legislative Anaylsis / Legislative Research / Video

CEL on CNN’s Smerconish

CEL on CNN's Smerconish Monday, September 29, 2025Center for Effective Lawmaking (CEL) Co-Director Alan Wiseman of Vanderbilt University was a guest on CNN’s Smerconish to discuss the published paper “On the Decline of Elite-Educated Republicans in Congress” and the educational divide in American politics. Professor Wiseman coauthored the paper with CEL Co-Director Craig Volden of the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy at the University of Virginia and Associate Professor Jonathan Wai of the University of Arkansas, and it was published in the academic journal Perspectives on Politics.In the segment, Professor…

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September 29, 2025