Rate My Professor Gabriel Sanchez

Gabriel R. Sanchez, PhD, is a Professor of Political Science at the University of New Mexico, where he also holds the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Chair in Health Policy and serves as Executive Director of the UNM Center for Social Policy and Director of Graduate Studies in the department. A native New Mexican, he joined UNM in 2005 as an Assistant Professor, was promoted to Associate Professor in 2011, and to Professor in 2016. He is a founding member of the UNM Native American Budget and Policy Institute, Director of Research for BSP Research, and Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution. Sanchez earned his PhD in Political Science from the University of Arizona in 2005 (dissertation: “The Role of Group Consciousness in Latino Political Behavior”), MA from the same institution in 2002, and BA cum laude in Political Science with a minor in Mexican American Studies from St. Mary’s University in 2001.

His scholarship focuses on American politics, particularly Latino politics, the interplay of racial/ethnic identity and political engagement, Latino health policy, minority legislative behavior, and civic engagement barriers for Latinos and Native Americans. He has authored or edited books including Latino Politics in America: Community, Culture, and Interests (2025, with John A. Garcia), Latinos and the 2016 Election: Latino Resistance and the Election of Donald Trump (2020), Latinos and the 2012 Election: The New Face of the American Voter (2015), and Hispanics and the U.S. Political System: Moving into the Mainstream (2008, with Chris Garcia). Select publications feature “Demographic Shifts and Public Attitudes Toward the January 6th Attack” (Journal of Race, Ethnicity, and Politics, 2025), “How Latinos’ perceptions of environmental health threats impact policy preferences” (Social Science Quarterly, 2024), “Sovereign Bodies: Native Nations, Native American Women, and the Politics of 2018” (Political Research Quarterly, 2021), and many others. Sanchez has garnered awards such as the Faculty Excellence Award (2015–2016, 2007–2008), Best Paper on Latino Politics (Western Political Science Association, 2013), and served as PI or co-PI on grants totaling approximately $9.2 million, while directing the Center for Social Policy with over $11.5 million in funding. He influences policy through advising the New Mexico State Legislature, expert testimony in voting rights cases, and commentary for The New York Times, CNN, Los Angeles Times, and The Economist.