Frances E. Lee
Princeton political scientist whose Insecure Majorities explains messaging over legislating in Congress.
House Republicans picked Jim Jordan over Steve Scalise as minority leader on 10 November, a choice that fits Lee's argument in Insecure Majorities (2016): when control of Congress is always in play, parties favour messaging over legislating.
Last refreshed: 11 November 2026
Timeline for Frances E. Lee
Jim Jordan wins House GOP leader race
US Midterms 2026Background
Lee is professor of politics and public affairs at Princeton University's School of Public and International Affairs. She wrote Insecure Majorities: Congress and the Perpetual Campaign (2016) and Beyond Ideology (2009), and co-wrote The Limits of Party (2020) with James M. Curry.
Beyond Ideology won the American Political Science Association's Fenno Award, and she was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2019.
Her work treats close fights for the majority as the driver of party conflict in Congress. A party that has just lost The House picking Jordan, a Freedom Caucus founder, over a former whip fits that model. Democrats' 2026 House win now hands that condition to the Republican minority.
Who is Frances Lee?
What is Insecure Majorities about?
What did Frances Lee and James Curry write?
Written with AI from Lowdown's published reporting. Not individually reviewed by an editor. Updated 11 November 2026. Editorial standards.