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Jay DeSart

Faculty Member

Dr. Jay DeSart

Biography

Dr. DeSart is the Chair of the Department of History and Political Science. He joined UVU in 2004 to help create the Political Science program. He earned a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 1994.

He teaches:
POLS 1010 - Introduction to Political Science,
POLS 1100 - American National Government,
POLS 3000 - Political Analysis,
POLS 3010 - Political Analysis II,
POLS 3040 - Survey Research and Design Methods
POLS 3120 - Political Parties,
POLS 3150 - U.S. Presidency,
POLS 3180 - Public Opinion and Political Behavior, and
POLS 3200 - US Congress

He has published research on the role of political parties in how voters think about politics, as well as forecasting the outcomes of elections at both the national and state levels. His current research focuses on the impact of anti-intellectualism on citizen attitudes and behavior.

Dr. DeSart is also one of the founding Directors of the Utah Debate Commission and sits on its Board as UVU's Representative, The UDC produces televised debates between the candidates for each of Utah's congressional and statewide offices each election year. As a Director he sits on the Commission's Venue Committee, and Chairs its Polling Committee.

Education

PhD, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 1994

Major: Political Science

MA, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 1990

Major: Political Science

BA, Concordia College, 1986

Major: Political Science and International Relations

Teaching

POLS 3010

Political Analysis II, Spring 2025

POLS 3150

US Presidency, Spring 2025

Presentations

DeSart, Jay (Presenter & Author), APSA Annual Meeting, "Long-Range State-Level 2024 Presidential Election Forecast", American Political Science Association, Philadelphia, PA. (September 5, 2024)
DeSart, Jay (Presenter & Author), APSA Annual Meeting, "But You Don't Even Know Who the Nominees Are Yet! - Preliminary 2024 Forecast ", American Political Science Association, Los Angeles, CA. (September 1, 2023)
DeSart, Jay (Presenter & Author), APSA Annual Meeting, "Gerrymander Potential and Forecasting U.S. House Elections", American Political Science Association, Montréal, Québéc. (September 16, 2022)
DeSart, Jay (Presenter & Author), APSA Annual Meeting, "The Long-Range State-Level Forecast of the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election", American Political Science Association, San Francisco, CA. (September 11, 2020)
DeSart, Jay (Presenter & Author), APSA Annual Meeting, "A Long-Range State-Level Presidential Election Forecast Model in 2016 and 2020", American Political Science Association, Washington, DC. (August 29, 2019)
DeSart, Jay (Presenter & Author), WPSA Annual Meeting, "Anti-Intellectualism in the 2016 Presidential Election", Western Political Science Association, Vancouver, BC. (April 14, 2017)

Scholarly/Creative Works

DeSart, Jay , "Long-Range State-Level 2024 Presidential Election Forecast_ How Can You Forecast an Election When You Don’t Know Who the Candidates Are Yet?" . PS: Political Science and Politics.
DeSart, Jay A., (2023) "A State-Level U.S. House Election Forecast Model for 2022_ Modeling the Potential Effects of Gerrymandering" (Issue: 3, vol. 55). Polity.
DeSart, Jay A., (2021) "A Long-Range State-Level Forecast of the 2020 Presidential Election" (Issue: 1, vol. 54). PS: Political Science and Politics.
DeSart, Jay , Holbrook, Thomas M., Putcha, Chandra S., (2010) "A Tale of Two Models_ The DeSart and Holbrook State-Level Forecast Model in 2008." . Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen Press.
DeSart, Jay , Holbrook, Thomas , (2003) "Campaigns, Polls, and the States_ Assessing the Accuracy of Statewide Presidential Trial-Heat Polls" (Issue: 4, vol. 56). Political Research Quarterly. https://doi.org/10.1177/106591290305600405
DeSart, Jay A, Holbrook, Thomas M, (2003) "Statewide Trial Heat Polls and the 2000 Presidential Election_ A Forecast Model." (Issue: 3, vol. 84). Social Science Quaterly.

Awards

Exceptional Faculty Award

Florida Atlantic University - May, 2004