Professional Affiliation

Author and Journalist

Expert Bio

Linda Killian's first book was THE FRESHMEN: What Happened to the Republican Revolution? in which she followed Newt Gingrich's career as Speaker of the House closely. This critically acclaimed book is a behind-the-scenes account of the104th Congress - the story of the GOP freshmen of '94 and the Republican takeover of Congress. It reveals the maneuvering and intrigues, the personal and political struggles, the successes and failures of Newt Gingrich. Killian explains how Gingrich and the Republicans tried but ultimately failed to change American politics. “The Freshmen” is considered the definitive work on the Class of ’94 and Killian has been quoted in Time magazine, The Washington Post and Politico on this subject. Killian is also the former Director, Washington Journalism Center; Director, Boston University Washington Internship Program and Washington Center.

Wilson Center Project

"The Swing Vote: The Untapped Power of Independents"

Project Summary

THE SWING VOTE: The Untapped Power of Independents, will be published in January 2012 by St. Martin’s Press. It paints a vivid portrait of the swing voters and focuses on four key swing demographic groups and states – Colorado, Ohio, New Hampshire and Virginia - that will be critical in the 2012 election.  Linda Killian presents a new model of the swing voters and reveals who they are and what they want from their government. She also examines the heightened polarization of Democratic and Republican elected officials and their inability to deal with our nation’s most important problems and offers solutions for fixing our broken political system and ways for the Independent voters to make their voices heard.