Effective political debate, discussion, and action start with civility, and it can begin at the state level.

That’s what researchers at Washington State University and their colleagues around the country found when they looked into civility, comity, and mutual respect⁠—even with significant political differences⁠—among state legislators.

“It makes a big difference in the quality of public policy in states,” says Nicholas Lovrich, emeritus Regents Professor of political science at WSU.

Government gridlock, toxic partisanship, and lack of trust have been infusing US politics from the federal level on down for years. In light of the worsening situation, including in Washington state, then-Secretary of State Sam Reed (’63 Soc. Stud., ’68 MA Poli. Sci.) in 2009 wanted to know the effect of civility on the state’s legislative process.

His challenge was answered by WSU’s Division of Governmental Studies and Services to collect the data and present it to the legislature, staff, and lobbyists.

Lovrich and Francis Benjamin (’06 Psych., ’14 MA Poli. Sci.), an instructor and data analyst for the Department of Psychology, led the study. They surveyed interns, registered voters, lobbyists, legislative staff, and current and former legislators from a wide range of party affiliations and geography.

“We wanted a 360-degree view of what was really happening,” Benjamin says. “We were asking, ‘How do we help the legislature make the best decisions?’”

Among their findings: nearly 95 percent of legislators felt that bipartisan collaboration improved the effectiveness of the legislative process. But legislators also said they worked in a more bipartisan manner compared to others.

After presentation of the findings in Olympia in 2010, word reached the National Institute for Civil Discourse, and the WSU researchers joined collaborators on a nationwide survey of legislative lobbyists. The research team included WSU Professor Steven Stehr, University of Arkansas political scientist William D. Schreckhise, and John Pierce. Pierce is a former WSU political science professor and dean of College of Liberal Arts, emeritus professor and vice chancellor at the University of Colorado, and affiliate professor at the University of Kansas. Among the nationwide collaborators were a number of WSU alumni.

Why lobbyists? Benjamin, Lovrich, and the research team discovered that, among the groups surveyed, lobbyists were the most responsive, most likely to offer informed commentary, and most interested in discussing the results of civility surveys. Lobbyists also know the value of a functional legislative process as they work with legislators in both parties.

“Lobbyists were actually the most open and the most consistent in their answers,” Benjamin says. “They really have their finger on the pulse of the legislative process.”

In Outside Looking In: Lobbyists’ Views on Civil Discourse in U.S. State Legislatures (WSU Press, 2021), findings showed differences among state legislatures on the level of civil discourse, but there was almost universal agreement that weakening civility norms and hyper-partisanship reduced the effective operation of state government.

Unfortunately, televised legislative work and social media have fed acrimony and lessened civil discussions, Lovrich says. “It put a strain on important relationships” when constituents would see and question why legislators were talking to the “enemy.”

There may be ways to overcome the decline in civility. Benjamin and Schreckhise looked at professional legislatures, where legislators are compensated, as a possible way to improve civility. Another is to pass on civil discourse norms to new legislators, when they have to leave behind the hostility of campaign environments for a more collegial legislative world.

One thing is clear, say Lovrich and Benjamin. The public benefits if legislators discuss ideas in a civil manner, even when Republicans and Democrats disagree on policies and ideas. It’s a matter of building trust and relationships.

“We need the voices of better angels to be heard and not be drowned out,” Lovrich says.

Learn more about
civility and state legislatures

Outside Looking In: Lobbyists’ Views on Civil Discourse in U.S. State Legislature (Results from the multi-state study)

National Institute for Civil Discourse (University of Arizona)

Service with civility (Sam Reed, Spring 2025)

Is There Linkage Between State Citizen Civility & State Legislative Civility? (John C. Pierce, William D. Schreckhise, Karl Kurtz, Nicholas P. Lovrich, Francis Benjamin, Brent S. Steel, and Steven D. Stehr, State and Local Government Review, Volume 57, Issue 1, August 29, 2024)

Is It Us? Is It Them? Or Is It This Place? Predicting Civility in State Legislatures (Jaclyn J. Kettler, Luke Fowler, and Stephanie L. Witt, State Politics and Policy Quarterly, Cambridge University Press: August 9, 2021)

Civility in politics and campaigns (Winter 2010)

The national research team

The national research team studying civil discourse in state legislatures:

  • Nicholas Lovrich: Regents Professor Emeritus in the School of Politics, Philosophy and Public Affairs at WSU
  • Francis Benjamin: Administrative professional in the psychology department and adjunct faculty in the finance department at WSU
  • John Pierce: Vice Chancellor Emeritus and Professor Emeritus at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs and former executive director of the Oregon Historical Society; former dean and professor at WSU
  • William Schreckhise: Professor of political science and chair of the department of political science in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Arkansas
  • Daniel Chand: Associate professor of political science at Kent State University
  • Luke Fowler: Associate professor and director of the MPA program in the School of Public Service at Boise State University
  • John Hood: President of the John William Pope Foundation and affiliate instructor at Duke University
  • Jaclyn Kettler: assistant professor of political science at Boise State University
  • Burdett Loomis: late professor of political science at University of Kansas
  • Mike Moltz: Associate professor of political science at Shippensburg University
  • Gary Moncrief: Emeritus professor of political science at Boise State University
  • Megan Remmel: Assistant professor in the Department of Political Science at Bradley University
  • Christina Sanders: Director, Division of Governmental Studies and Services at WSU
  • Christopher Simon (’94 MA, ’97 PhD Poli. Sci.): Professor of political science at University of Utah
  • Brent Steel (’81 MA, ’84 PhD Poli. Sci.): Professor and Graduate Director in the School of Public Policy at Oregon State University
  • Steven Stehr: Sam Reed Distinguished Professor in Civic Education and Public Civility and faculty of School of Politics, Philosophy, and Public Affairs at WSU.
  • John Tennert (’95 Poli. Sci.): Faculty at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas
  • Leslie Winner: Duke University, co-chair of the North Carolina Leadership Forum
  • Stephanie Witt (’84, ’86 MA, ’89 PhD Poli. Sci.): professor and Director of Training for the School of Public Service at Boise State University