Christopher Ojeda

Christopher Ojeda is an associate professor of political science at the University of California, Merced. He studies the social and economic roots of political inequality. In particular, he examines how poverty and poor mental health shape citizen engagement and are shaped by political processes. He is the author of the book Sad Citizen: How Politics Is Depressing and Why It Matters (University of Chicago Press, 2025). His research has been funded by the Russell Sage Foundation and published in the American Political Science Review, American Journal of Political Science, American Sociological Review, and other journals.