As senior fellow at New America, co-founder of Fix Our House and the Center for Ballot Freedom, and lecturer at Johns Hopkins University, Lee Drutman bridges cutting-edge research with practical democratic reform. His 2020 book Breaking the Two-Party Doom Loop made the case for multiparty democracy and proportional representation, reshaping how reformers think about America's party system. His 2015 book The Business of America is Lobbying won the American Political Science Association's Robert A. Dahl Award for scholarship on democracy.
In 2026, he was named to the Washington Post’s Next 50, which recognizes 50 people who are reshaping our society. His work appears in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, Foreign Policy, Politico, National Affairs, and Vox, and he appears regularly on programs from NPR's Morning Edition to The Ezra Klein Show.
“Lee Drutman is one of our most perceptive political thinkers.”
Ezra Klein, The New York Times“He emerges as one of the keenest observers of America's political pathologies.”
The Economist“One of the foremost students of American politics today.”
Francis Fukuyama, Stanford UniversityUndercurrent Events
Lee's newsletter on democracy, parties and reform.
The Democratic Party is about to make the most predictable mistake in American politicsDemocrats will win in 2026 and 2028. The problem is winning in a system with a two-year half-life.March 23, 2026
The moderation debate fiddles with 2% while democracy’s dimensionality collapsesPresidential vote now determines 98% of House outcomes.October 29, 2025
Why you can’t just ban gerrymanderingFair maps require a definition of fair. There isn’t one. There are infinite ones.May 26, 2026
Writing
- The 65-year-old theory that helps explain why the Democrats keep losingVox, September 3, 2025
- What Elon Musk Gets Wrong About Our Broken Political SystemPolitico, July 8, 2025
- Democrats keep saying America is an ‘oligarchy.’ Is that true?Vox, April 28, 2025
- How to Fix America’s Two-Party ProblemThe New York Times (with Jesse Wegman), January 14, 2025
Politics in Question
The podcast Lee co-hosts with Julia Azari and James Wallner. Latest episode:
- Is Congress Too Old?October 5, 2026
Speaking
Talks at the Aspen Ideas Festival, the Chautauqua Institution, the CSU Democracy Summit, New America and the American Enterprise Institute.
Fix Our House
A campaign for proportional representation in the United States. fixourhouse.org
Center for Ballot Freedom
Working to replace extreme two-party polarization with a healthy, vibrant multiparty democracy. centerforballotfreedom.org