Autism and Political Careers: Navigating Political Leadership ^†

Abstract

Individuals on the autism spectrum have been stigmatized as not being expected to engage in certain activities, such as interpersonal interaction and communication, which are related to the capacity to exercise leadership and may have implications for their capacity to effectively function in political roles. In this paper, we profile four politicians (who happen to be state legislators) with autism who have beaten the odds with electoral success. We examine their routes to office, their range of activities, including how they represent autism, and the intersectionalities (in addition to autism) that impact their lives.

1. Introduction

In democratic societies, one measure of the social and political status of a group is how well they are represented within political processes and governmental institutions. Neurodivergent individuals, along with other people with a variety of disabilities, have historically been marginalized in American society and governmental bodies, both as a result of the constraints on political participation and communication resulting from their neurodiversity and the stigma that can be associated with their conditions. There has undoubtedly been political participation by neurodivergent people over the years, as diagnostic labels were less likely to be applied broadly, and non-electronic coverage of campaigns meant that candidate personal characteristics were not shared with the public in quite as revealing ways as have more contemporary forms of technology or journalistic practices. Nevertheless, whether and how the characteristics of individuals who are neurodivergent might affect their ability to participate in electoral politics and, more specifically, in political campaigns is, we believe, an interesting and important question.

In this paper, we examine how neurodiverse individuals, particularly those on the autism spectrum, take on roles of political leadership and approach campaigning for elected public office. While often perceived as limitations to political activity, traits of individuals with autism can be seen as different forms of communication and cognition that actually can support effective political participation and leadership. Through an examination of four elected officials who happen to be state legislators—the only ones we could find who had publicly identified as autistic—this paper focuses on the following research questions: (1) what is the typical path by which these politicians with autism reach elected office; (2) how does their autism affect their political activities and agendas; and (3) to what extent do personal and political statuses other than autism shape their political activities, i.e., how does intersectionality impact their political careers?

Though what follows is largely descriptive, these questions are the ones that have been prominent in the study of a variety of other marginalized groups, e.g., women, racial and ethnic minorities, and LGBTQ individuals. In terms of a path to political office generally, scholars focus on the importance of an eligible pool—individuals with the requisite personal characteristics (e.g., higher education, appropriate networks) or professional capacities—and working one’s way from lower to higher levels of office, which tends to be the traditional route to political positions [1]. Once obtaining office, members of marginalized groups often, though of course not always, include activity on behalf of the group they represent as part of their political agenda. Swers [2] and Haider-Markel [3] have shown, for example, that women and LGBTQ+ legislators are more likely to sponsor legislation impacting their demographic group. Intersectionality of identities can affect representation [4].

In what follows, we demonstrate—perhaps not surprisingly but interestingly—that the patterns just described hold for the legislators we examine here.

The paper is part of a larger research project assessing the implications for political candidates of having a disability [3,5,6]. Earlier papers have found that with the rise in the disability rights movement and a more accepting social climate for disabilities, politicians are more willing to disclose their disabilities to constituents and the public and are less likely to experience negative political consequences for having disabilities. In recent years, political scientists, such as Jacob Smith [7] in the United States and Elizabeth Evans and Stefanie Reher [8,9] in Europe, have examined the significance of candidate disabilities in political careers.

The study discussed here addresses a disabling condition of emerging interest, autism. Autism is one of the major conditions considered to be a form of neurodiversity, a concept that regards individuals with differences in brain function and behavioral traits as part of normal variation in the human population [10]. While the criteria for diagnosing autism have varied over time and are not always applied consistently, historically, a diagnosis of autism has been based on difficulty in interpersonal communication and interaction. Autism has been more frequently diagnosed among males than among females, and diagnostic criteria may be applied differently for men and women. According to the UCLA Health website [11], women may not be diagnosed as autistic until they reach adulthood, and their symptoms may include fewer social difficulties, more internalized symptoms, such as anxiety or depression, and a focus on particularly intense interests that may not be distinguishable from those of other women.

Political environments typically require diplomacy and the use of emotional appeal, both of which can pose challenges for those on the autism spectrum, especially in situations that demand public speaking or the interpretation of social cues [12]. Those with a diagnosis of autism may experience challenges in maintaining focus or completing tasks and may engage in repetitive behaviors (sometimes referred to as “stimming”) to assist in self-regulation. Thus, attributes associated with autism may pose challenges for successful political careers. However, autistic politicians also may bring unique strengths and perspectives to their work, including data-centered decision-making, meticulous attention to detail, and a naturally analytical mindset.

2. Materials and Methods

This study explores the implications for political activity of being on the autism spectrum by conducting a qualitative analysis of publicly available material. We first sought to identify candidates on the autism spectrum via extensively searching Google, YouTube, and similar sources. Though these searches only turned up four politicians, the profiles below become more interesting as all four happen to be state legislators, adding depth to the comparisons.

Following a long tradition in social and political science studies (e.g., Fenno [13] in political science and Goffman [14] in sociology), we conducted a qualitative analysis of these politicians’ activities. Though directly interviewing these individuals is left for another day, we examined as much publicly available material as we could find, e.g., campaign and official websites and local and national newspaper accounts. Other work [15] has shown that this “outsider” strategy for studying candidates yields productive results, and the analysis below demonstrates the large extent to which these candidates indeed leave a public record. Wherever possible, we use the candidates’ own words to ensure we are getting their perspective.

More specifically, we profile four state legislators who self-identify as on the autism spectrum. Jessica Benham and Abigail Salisbury (both Democrats) currently represent the 36th and 34th districts, respectively, in Pennsylvania. Benham was first elected in 2020, and Salisbury in a special election in 2022. Briscoe Cain (R), in office since 2017, represents the 128th district in Texas and is running for Congress in one of the areas involved in the current mid-stream redistricting controversies. Yuh-Line Niou (D) represented the 65th district in New York between 2017 and 2022, when she engaged in what turned out to be an unsuccessful run for Congress. While these are the only elected officials our searches turned up as identified as autistic, as Cain’s story below shows, autism, under some circumstances, can be an invisible disability if or until an individual chooses to “come out.” Given the stigma, the choice not to divulge may make sense for many. Despite the notable stereotypes attached to people on the autism spectrum and acknowledging that the people studied here are “highly functioning,” these four legislators have, nonetheless, by virtue of their political careers, taken on leadership roles. As such, they are involved in the many and varied activities generally engaged in by state legislators. We focus below on their backgrounds/roots to political office, their “autism journey,” their activities as state representatives, and the several intersectionalities that are part of their lives.

3. Results

3.1. Background/Route to Office

By any standard, the four legislators we profile are a pretty impressive group, and they have certainly broken barriers. Typical of other candidates with disabilities [6,16], all are highly educated, hold advanced degrees, and have been professionally employed. Before taking office as a state legislator, Benham obtained two master’s degrees and a Ph.D. (in communications) while also writing about autism [17,18]. Cain and Salisbury have law degrees and have been practicing lawyers; Niou received a master’s in public administration and, among other jobs, worked as a chief of staff for a New York state legislator, Ron Kim. “He said he would never forget the weekend before she officially started. ‘She was the only one in the office on New Year’s weekend, she had rolled up her sleeves, painting the walls.’” [19].

In turn, Salisbury “previously served on Swissvale Borough Council for five years … Abigail is also a small business owner. She started a solo law practice for nonprofits and small businesses in Wilkinsburg in 2015. She worked in the field of international human rights and academia before starting her law practice and later taught an undergraduate course on First Amendment Law at Pitt as an adjunct for two years. During that time, she participated in the unionization efforts” [20]. Her human rights work turned out to be quite eventful and downright scary, as a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article reporting her House candidacy recounts:

In Ethiopia, while teaching law in 2008, she published an article in a University of Pittsburgh legal journal critical of human rights abuses under then President Meles Zenawi. The next day, she was fired. Death threats soon followed… Salisbury fled the city she was teaching in to stay with friends in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa until she could escape the country.

[21]

Cain’s route to politics was less spectacular but equally entrepreneurial. In college, he founded his school’s Republican Club, and as a law student, he founded a pro-life student organization and served as the president of the Federalist Society. As a lawyer, he worked as legal counsel for Operation Rescue and as a board member for Right to Life Advocates, Inc. [22]. In the lingo of traditional political science, then, all these individuals clearly fit the “eligible pool” of people potentially positioned to move to higher levels of political office [1,23].

Electorally, all are appropriately enmeshed in the politics of their states and districts. For instance, Cain won his initial election (a Republican run-off) by 23 votes, noting he was outspent eight-to-one [24]. Niou and Salisbury lost at least one special or primary election before obtaining their seats. As a former chief of staff, Niou could claim familiarity with the workings of Albany before actually being elected [25], and “Ms. Benham says her background as a union organizer and health care advocate—through a nonprofit she co-founded that serves adults on the autism spectrum—has given her experience writing grants and helping connect constituents with resources.” She also noted broader experience with the policy process [26].

These people’s electoral journeys also show the issues involved in modern-day campaigning, especially for female candidates and candidates with some form of disability. Candidates from marginalized backgrounds may need particular encouragement, given the many stereotypes and socialization working against political ambition [27]. Thus, Niou has credited the encouragement of former New York State Senator Daniel Squadron, who pushed her to run in a 2016 special election called when New York Speaker of the House Sheldon Silver was indicted on federal corruption charges [19]. Benham, in turn, pointed to the effectiveness of a campaign training program:

The training was incredibly thorough which I really appreciated. I had been around campaigns before but I had never worked on one, so to really get a deep understanding of how campaigns work from press relations to field to marketing, etc., was really cool! My team won the campaign presentation at the end, so I felt very good about that. I technically feel like my election was the second campaign I won [28].

Resources matter too. From her state legislative position, Niou attempted a 2022 run for Congress (10th congressional district). Coming in close in a primary (23.8% of the vote to the ultimate winner, now Rep. Dan Goldman’s 25%). Niou was ultimately dissuaded from a general election challenge on New York’s Working Families’ Party for a number of reasons: narrow differences between the candidates, Goldman’s financial and networking advantages (he had been one of the lawyers working on now-President Trump’s first impeachment charges), was an heir to the wealthy Levi Strauss family, and had the support of Nancy Pelosi and others. “We simply do not have the resources to fight all fights at the same time, and we must protect our democracy now,” Niou said [29].

3.2. Autism Journey

At least in the public record we reviewed, none of these legislators focused in any direct way on how autism impacted their campaign interactions. However, all these candidates did reflect on their more general lived experiences with autism, helping us appreciate the real issues people, even people who ultimately become elected representatives, face. Their experiences also demonstrate their varied approaches to it.

Given that it is harder to diagnose women than men for autism [11], it is not surprising that none of the three women realized they were on the spectrum until young adulthood. Each had a sense they did not quite fit in, but did not understand why. Yuh-Line Niou, who was born in Taiwan and came to the U.S. when she was six months old, described

I was actually diagnosed as a young adult. I talk about it pretty openly, but it’s just one of those things…I actually didn’t know I was autistic at all. Women and people with different cultural backgrounds are harder to diagnose or are diagnosed later in life. When you look at my report cards, it’s pretty obvious in grade school, but it’s just nobody ever thought that, you know, I was autistic, even when I exhibited all those traits. I think because I’m Asian American, a lot of times instead of thinking, “Wow, she’s not verbalizing certain things,” they just thought that I didn’t speak English, and so dismissed a lot of signs [30].

Niou went on to describe that she had to sign a “weird contract” allowing her only to check out library books on Fridays and bring them back on Monday because teachers thought she was reading too much in class [30].

Growing up, Benham also faced difficulties in school. Her teachers wanted her to be evaluated to see if she had ADHD, but her parents resisted because they feared her being labeled. Often, she heard, “Jessica is a bad kid,” which was hard for her to forget.

“If you would ask my second-grade teacher if I would ever be here, she would laugh,” Benham said. “I did not understand social norms. Those things don’t come naturally to autistic people who do not understand those unwritten rules and don’t know how to read between the lines.” [31].

For Cain, the story was a little different. The difficult part was going public with his condition, and it was not until several years into his career as a legislator that he made the move, which he did in a speech on the floor of the Texas House in April 2019, Autism Awareness Month:

In fact, being on the autism spectrum can be a valuable part of our identity. I say our identity because I, too, am one of the millions of Americans on the autism spectrum. For the first time, I’m publicly speaking up about my own experience with Asperger’s syndrome, a condition on the autism spectrum…. I, along with countless others who experience these challenges brought on by Asperger’s and autism communicate and express myself in a way that is different from others. If I don’t maintain eye contact with you it’s not an intentional nonverbal cue of disrespect. Body language—reading it and appropriate use of it—does not come naturally for those on the spectrum. Sometimes the things I say or do may come off completely different from what I intended [32].

In the end, though, all of these politicians agreed on the importance of sharing their stories. Each, in their own way, has expressed the importance of serving as role models, and each seeks to use their platform as a way to help others. From Niou:

I listen to a lot of folks talk about their journeys. [Other autistic] people have written to me, and it’s crazy how similar our stories are—beautiful, actually. I appreciate that my story has given a lot of relief to some parents and has also helped a lot of young people navigate their world.

[30]

She said having an autistic lawmaker in Congress would have been “amazing to see, and amazing to know as a kid.”.

[33]

“My experience is not universal,” Cain said. “And many Texans have it much, much harder than I do. But I also believe I have the opportunity and the platform to empower younger generations who have to work every single day to overcome those same obstacles that I do. The unfortunate reality is autism never takes a day off. It has no cure. And, as far as we know, we can’t make it go away.

[32]

Ms. Benham, the first known autistic woman to serve in the Pennsylvania state legislature, as well as the first LGBTQ+ female legislator, said she wants to lay the groundwork for those who follow her “so we’re no longer having conversations about if people like me have the ability to lead.”.

[26]

3.3. In-Office Activity/Representation

As state legislators, these professionals are expected to engage in a wide variety of activities, taking stands on local and national issues, and engaging in constituency-oriented activities. Thus, though these four legislators have varying representational styles, they need to focus widely, and what they do goes well beyond advocacy on neurodivergent concerns/disability. Yet, as political scientists have described the representation of gender or other marginalized groups [3,34], at least three of the four (the female Democrats) did focus on autism and disability more broadly. As political scientists say, they provide substantive as well as descriptive representation. We describe an overview of their general activities and then focus on their autism advocacy.

Of the four, Cain is the most issue-oriented and ideological. He lets his constituents know he is a “Proven Conservative Fighter. Ready to Lead in Washington.” Briscoe Cain has become one of Texas’s most unapologetic defenders of conservative principles. As a member of the Texas Legislature, he leads the charge for “limited government, secure borders, election integrity, and protecting life and liberty in the Texas Legislature.” [35]. He describes himself as a staunch defender of the Second Amendment, believes “the traditional family is the cornerstone of a healthy society, and that marriage should be defined as the union of one man and one woman,” and describes himself as “a proud and unapologetic supporter of the Right to Life movement” [35]. Cain’s activities have also included going to Pennsylvania in 2020 to help the Trump team work on a voter recount [36]; he has argued that Democrats who were absent from the state legislature for more than seven days in the context of the current redistricting controversies should be removed from office [37], and he has suggested that the state should take over the city of Austin due to its liberal politics [38].

On the other end of the ideological spectrum, Niou ranks high on the progressive end. For her initial run in a primary prior to her 2016 state assembly election, she ran on the progressive Working Families Party [25], and she “has assiduously courted the left-most flank of the Democratic Party” [39]. In the state legislature, her activities included a focus on affordable housing, racial discrimination, and workplace sexual harassment [39]. Thus, Niou’s sponsorship of the Rent and Mortgage Cancelation Act of 2020 was seen as important enough that the story was covered by the Indian Real Estate News, which labeled her a “pro-tenant firebrand” [40]. She also took a lead role in developing part of a legislative package to address racial discrimination. Niou advocated for better data collection, acknowledging the diversity of groups of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders who “are members of distinct ethnic groups who have their own culture, languages, and needs” [41].

Benham takes a somewhat different but equally energetic approach. She notes that she was a “working-class kid” just like the people she represents in the state legislature, and that her goal is to serve her community [31]. Her campaign website documents that she “has focused on increasing public safety, fighting for access to healthcare, a clean and healthy environment, fair funding for education, and LGBTQ and disability rights.” According to her website, she has brought “millions of dollars” to the area, and she sends out frequent newsletters keeping constituents up-to-date.” Also, Benham has received national media coverage for work on assisting pharmacies cope with the rise in pharmacy benefit managers [42], worked to classify emergency dispatchers as first responders [43], and been involved with upgrading the state’s kinship care system [44].

Finally, according to her website, State Rep. Abigail Salisbury “accomplished quite a lot in a little over a year for the 34th District and the Commonwealth overall…. she Introduced and shepherded the passage of bills to address blighted and abandoned properties and establish a municipal grant assistance program; Forwarded an additional bill to ban lobbyist involvement in political campaigns; Helped launch and currently co-chairs Pennsylvania’s bipartisan Charitable Nonprofit Caucus…, and Aided in the cultivation of almost $10,000,000 in funding, grants, and tax credits to the district for a host of projects.” [20]. Salisbury has also recently sponsored legislation clarifying that state police policy should not be used to assist ICE [45]; has held townhalls to evaluate the handling by local utilities in the aftermath of significant storms [45], and has even “distributed fentanyl test strips from her Braddock office” [26].

Additionally, for the three female legislators, autism, neurodivergence, and disability are very much on their radar. Their work puts autism/disability more prominently on the political agenda. As Niou has explained:

I’ve been shaped by being autistic. I have had to fight to carve out space for myself and others, from a young age, to get a seat at the table. I think that the disabled and neurodiverse communities have been left out of the conversation and policymaking process for a very, very long time. Even when we have people making considerations for us, it’s really different than doing it ourselves. I think because I’ve had to struggle a little to make sure my needs are being met, I understand better that we should be fighting for something different. That’s why representation matters. That’s why we need to send people with diverse backgrounds to every different leadership role available. That way we can bring our lived experiences to the legislative process.

[30]

Indeed, Niou’s work provides an example of how difficult it can be to get even a “small” disability action on the table:

I had a very small bill—but it was a big bill in the sense that it affected so many people—on big font. I know that sounds like something anybody would be willing to pass. But it was a fight that I fought for four years to make sure that if people who are hard of seeing checked the box that said that they were, collections agencies would have to give their bills in large font. I got so much pushback on it that I had to debate the bill four years in a row on the floor. It’s so important that we’re tackling some of these issues that people don’t really think are issues. You would think it’s just common sense, but it’s not thinking about everyone unless you’re thinking about everyone.

[30]

In turn, Salisbury is chair of the Pennsylvania legislative caucus on autism. She has initiated legislative hearings in response to Secretary of Health and Human Services Kennedy’s assertions linking acetaminophen use during pregnancy to the condition [41]. Showing her insider familiarity, she has also touted “State Police Autism Spectrum Disorder interaction card can be valuable resource for autistic Pennsylvanians” [46]. She explains that she personally understands the challenges: “In certain situations, interactions with police can be difficult for some people on the autism spectrum … Some people may experience sensory overload in situations involving lights and sirens, loud noises or other high-stress events, which can cause them to shut down and appear uncooperative or unpredictable” [46].

Finally, Benham has been recognized as a “leader” on autism and disability rights [47]. She has spoken to groups outside her district (Duke) and has been interviewed on national TV [31]. Her website puts a premium on accessibility, including varying fonts and colors. She has been involved in efforts to improve the wages for caregivers of intellectually disabled and autistic people [44], has advocated for a state cabinet department on disability, and has sought to make the Pennsylvania State Capitol building more accessible. “The people who are here now are more important than whatever small piece of history we might lose by taking out a chunk of steps and putting in a lift” [48].

3.4. Intersectionality

Over the last several decades, Kimberle Crenshaw [4] has popularized the important concept of intersectionality, the idea that multiple identities lead to different treatment, most specifically in the context of oppressed groups. Different forms of discrimination overlap in multiple ways. Crenshaw’s original work focused on the role of race in the courts, and she documented several cases where Black women were treated differently from Black men and obviously differently from White women or White men. It is a useful concept here as a reminder that someone’s autism is only a part, sometimes not even the most important part, of an individual’s identity. Additional identities matter to each, and each brings these identities to the political process. All three women identify as LGBTQ+. Judaism is important to Salisbury, and a Chinese heritage is important to Niou.

Thus, in addition to her work on behalf of autism, Benham has been active on LGBTQ+ issues:

As the co-chair of the legislature’s LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus, Jess believes that no one should be at risk for losing their jobs or homes on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. Jessica serves as the first out female member of the LGBTQ+ community in the PA state legislature and passed legislation through the House to protect the civil rights of our LGBTQ residents to ensure that everyone can live safely and freely in our state. She continues to fight for its passage through the Senate [49].

Also, Salisbury described her identity:

I’m the B in LGBTQIA+. I also was diagnosed with Asperger’s back when that was still what that diagnosis was called, and some studies have shown that women on the autism spectrum have low identification with femaleness. I don’t know if someone has come up with a word that encapsulates that identity, but that is how I have always felt. Some people might say the right word is “nonbinary,” but perhaps there is a more precise word. I’m not sure.

[50]

She also noted the importance of her Judaism:

I think I might be the only Jewish woman in the General Assembly if elected. I’d be the only Jew to have served in the 34th District, as well. I have noticed a distinct uptick in antisemitism in recent years, and have dealt with it in my own life as well as on borough council, so I was excited to see Governor Shapiro take office and announce that he would keep a kosher kitchen in the Governor’s Mansion….

[50]

Finally, as an Asian-American, Niou commented on the increase in harassment and even death threats she had personally received after COVID-19:

My mom and my dad were very concerned about the more elevated scrutiny and the more disturbing commentary towards me… They did not feel like I was always going to be safe. But they also recognized the fact that the only way to stop the terrorism, the hatred, the hate, is to be more visible.

[51]

4. Conclusions

First and foremost, the profiles of these four state legislators primarily debunk stereotypes, as we do not normally associate autism with leadership. Not only that, but as would be expected of any individual holding an elected position, a detailed examination of what these legislators do shows they engage in the full range of activities expected of other politicians.

But how did these people achieve political office, and exactly what kinds of activities do they engage in? As scholarship has found with respect to politicians representing marginalized groups more generally, these four state legislators fit political science definitions of an eligible pool; they have the education and political credentials that position them for higher office. Additionally, and again as tends to be the case for others from marginalized groups, their descriptive representation (the simple fact of holding office) leads to substantive results as their efforts put autism higher on the political agenda and help to normalize the variety of ways the condition manifests. Each in their own way also uses the platform provided by their positions to offer encouragement to the next generation, and each—particularly the three Democratic women—engages in at least some activity relative to autism that legislators without the condition would likely ignore.

At the same time, at least for the three legislators we could document, again, the three Democratic women, intersectionality—here in the forms of gender, ethnicity, or LGBTQ+— helps explain their activities.

That said, a couple of characteristics of the politicians of this case study—in particular their partisanship and their gender—are worth pointing out. What can be learned from a study of three Democratic females and one Republican male? Would Democratic males behave similarly to their female counterparts, and what of Republican women compared to Republican men? Two points are worth making. At least at the level of the U.S. Congress in a polarized era, partisanship has counted for more than gender—partisans, regardless of a host of other factors, stick together; voting along party lines has been at an all-time high, and a good deal of teamsmanship and party loyalty characterize behavior more generally [52]. On the other hand, and the legislators profiled here demonstrate this, Democrats are generally more likely to focus on “identity” politics [53]. In that sense, it makes sense that of these four legislators, Cain, despite “coming out” as autistic and despite any behind-the-scenes activity he engages in, is the least likely of the four to “insert” autism onto the political agenda.

As well, these politicians happen to all serve as state legislators. Compared to other political roles (single-issue policy specialists, for example), this certainly means they need to be elected by fairly large constituencies, and they need to be generalists who focus on a wide variety of issues—making it noteworthy that even in this broader context, three of the four include autism-related concerns prominently in their portfolios.

Finally, several avenues for future research are worth noting. For starters, for the reasons described earlier, politicians with autism are hard to identify. More direct engagement with activist networks, combined with insider access to particular geographic jurisdictions, could be an intriguing next step. In terms of the actual behavior of politicians in office, it would be interesting to know how these representatives with autism compare to their nonautistic counterparts. Based on findings here and based on what we know about the behavior of other marginalized groups, we speculate that politicians with autism are more likely to place autism on the political agenda, but what of other policies, such as health care or education? What about bringing a different style of policy analysis to the table? A more precise comparison with non-autistic candidates could answer these questions more precisely. Further, this study is based solely on the public record. This tells us a good deal; we have learned a lot about these politicians. It will take more direct interviewing to go deeper into the ways autism impacted their campaigns, though earlier work on individuals with physical disabilities suggests that disability might generally have less impact than we might expect [6].

In the end, the findings of this paper corroborate a unique group of political science scholarship with respect to other marginalized groups. As (hopefully) more similarly situated politicians come on the scene, it will be easier to investigate their activities.