Republican staffers are more likely to have attended a school in the South, while Democratic staffers have favored schools in the D.C. area and California.
Although the greatest number of current congressional staffers from both Republican and Democratic offices are George Washington University alumni, the remaining top four school systems that have produced the most staffers differ between the two parties.
The University of California System, American University, Georgetown University and California State University claim the remaining four spots for school systems with the most Democratic staffer alumni, while the State University System of Florida, the University System of Georgia, University of North Carolina System and University of Mississippi have produced the most Republican staffers along with George Washington University.
Large coastal schools tend to produce a lopsided number of Democrats. New York University and City University of New York collectively produce nearly six times more Democratic staffers than Republican staffers and the University of Washington System is the alma mater to five times more Democratic staffers than Republican staffers. Many large schools in the South produce a disproportionate number of Republicans. Auburn University has produced eight times more Republican staffers than Democratic staffers and nearly 15 times more Republican staff alumni are from the Louisiana State University System than Democratic staff alumni.
Some schools are even more lopsided. Liberty University has a particular stronghold among Republican staffers, with only two Democratic staffers that have attended the university versus 76 Republicans. Similarly, only one Democratic staffer has attended Hillsdale College, while 21 Republican staffers are Hillsdale alumni. On the other hand, Columbia University has produced only two GOP staffers while generating 48 Democratic staff.
