About me 

My name is Rodolfo Solis; I am a Ph.D. candidate in Political Science at the University of California, Los Angeles. My research examines the role of broader structural forces on the political behavior and partisan identity formation of Latino Republicans. Motivated by my own experiences growing up in Pharr, TX, my dissertation explores how a significant segment of the Latino electorate has come to align with the Republican Party—challenging long-held assumptions about Latino political behavior and partisanship. Drawing on over 80 in-depth interviews with Latino Republicans conducted across South Texas between 2020 and 2025, I analyze how individuals make sense of their partisan identities in an era marked by intense cultural conflict and partisan polarization. My findings show that as culture war issues—such as abortion, gender roles, and LGBTQ+ rights—become central to partisan conflict, party platforms have become more sharply differentiated, leading many Latinos to view the Republican Party as more closely aligned with their deeply held conservative values.  I am an alumnus of the American Political Science Association Ralph Bunche Summer Institute, and my research has been feautured in the New York Times and supported by the UCLA Cota-Robles Award, the UCLA Graduate Research Mentorship Award, the UCLA Dissertation Year Fellowship and the Latino Policy & Politics Institute.