Dr. Susan MacManus

Dr. Susan A. MacManus, who received her M.A. from the University of Michigan and Ph.D. from Florida State University, is Distinguished Professor of Public Administration and Political Science in the Department of Government and International Affairs, University of South Florida. For the last five election cycles, she has served as political analyst for WFLA-TV (Tampa NBC affiliate) and the state’s leading station. She was a blogger for TBO. com during the 2004 and 2006 election campaigns.

MacManus is the co-author of Politics in States and Communities, 13th ed., with Thomas R. Dye (Prentice Hall 2009), Florida's Politics, 2nd ed., with Thomas R. Dye and Aubrey Jewett (Florida Institute of Government, 2007) and Florida's Politics: Ten Media Markets, One Powerful State with Kevin Hill and Dario Moreno (Florida Institute of Government, 2004). She is also the author of Young v. Old: Generational Combat in the 21st Century? (Westview, 1996) and Targeting Senior Voters (Rowman & Littlefield, 2004). MacManus and her mother, Elizabeth, are the authors of two local Florida history books published by the University of Tampa Press: Citrus, Sawmills, Critters & Crackers (1998) and Going, Going, Almost Gone: Lutz-Land O' Lakes Pioneers Share Their Precious Memories (forthcoming, 2008). MacManus is from a citrus-growing family in Pasco County.

She served as Chair of the Florida Elections Commission from 1999 to 2003 and helped the Collins Center For Public Policy, Inc. draft Florida’s Help America Vote Act state plan (voter, election official, and poll worker education section) required by Congress to quality for federal funding under the Help America Vote Act. She also served as an advisor to the Florida Division of Elections on the development of its statewide poll worker training manual. In 2008, MacManus was appointed by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission to two working groups: the Election Management Guidelines Development Working Group on Elderly and Disabled Voters in Long-Term Care Facilities and the Working Group on Media and Public Relations.

MacManus was a Fulbright Research Scholar at Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea, in 1989, received USF’s Distinguished Research Scholar Award in 1991, and was honored as the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society’s USF Artist/Scholar in 1997 and designated as a Distinguished University Professor in 1999. She received the first biennial Diane Blair award for “Outstanding Achievement in Politics and Government” from the Southern Political Science Association in 2001. In March, 2002, the Florida Political Science Association gave her its Manning Dauer Distinguished Florida Political Science Award. She has been a Reubin O’D. Askew Fellow of the Florida Institute of Government since 1995.

MacManus is unaffiliated with any political party.

Will Florida Voters Get What They Want Most in Their Leaders?
June 15, 2010

Lots of Unanswered Questions in Early 2010
March 2, 2010

Just Who Are Those Florida Swing Voters?
A Closer Look at No Party Affiliation (NPA) Registrants and Self-Proclaimed Independents
December 21, 2009

The Do’s and Don’ts of Recruiting College Students as Campaign Volunteers
October 28, 2009

It’s All About Jobs
What the Term Economic Development Means To Floridians in Tough Economic Times
September 28, 2009

Will 2010 Be an Anti-Incumbent Year?
10 Signs That Florida Voters’ Patience May Be Wearing Thin
August 17, 2009

Florida Women Slowly Narrowing the Gender Gap on the Bench
July 13, 2009

READY, SET, GO!
PARTY REGISTRATION START POINTS FOR THE 2010 ELECTION
June 4, 2009

Retrenchment Budgets: Painful Choices, Diverse Strategies
May 4, 2009

ADVICE TO THE CANDIDATES & PARTIES:
GIVE THOSE COLLEGE STUDENT ACTIVISTS A SUMMER JOB!
April 8, 2009

The Tax Issue: A Sleeping Giant Easily Awakened
March 11, 2009

Florida’s Solid Bellwether State Status: Alive and Well in 2009
February 18, 2009

The “Blowback” From Election 2008
Why Potential 2010 Candidates Have Cold Feet…For Now
January 28, 2009

Voter Demographics
FLORIDA REGISTRATION AND VOTING PATTERNS BY MEDIA MARKET
November 3, 2008

Voter Demographics
Battle for the Sexes
October 26, 2008

Voter Demographics
Generational Politics in Florida - Some Surprises!
October 10, 2008

Voter Demographics
Florida's Racial/Ethnic Mix Mirrors the Nation's
September 24, 2008