Congresswoman’s PS 142A Visit is a Photo-Finish

UCLA graduate (B.A. 1984) and now U.S. Rep. Mimi Walters (R-CA), returned to the department recently to speak with Prof. John Zaller’s PS 142A lecture class about the role party support played in her successful campaign for the House last year. Then outed by her staff as a fan of the “selfie,” Rep. Walters posed for one with the students (shown).  As Marian E. (“Mimi”) Krogius, Rep. Walters earned her undergraduate degree in Political Science here, and from 1996 to 2014 moved through the political ranks from Laguna Niguel mayor and councilmember to seats in the California assembly and then state senate.

“I invited her to speak in my class on political parties … because party nominations are a central element of the class and she had just won the Republican nomination in a very competitive district,” explained Prof. Zaller, who is a co-author of “The Party Decides,” a heavily-cited research work on U.S. political party nominating processes. Rep. Walters represents the state’s 45th congressional district, incorporating Laguna Hills, Irvine, and other central Orange County cities.

For more information about the first-term congresswoman, click here.

For a description of Prof. Zaller’s PS 142A class, click here.